Stormfly
by Song Of A Free Heart
Summary: SUPERHERO AU - She was trying to commission a custom leather jacket. The last thing she expected was to get dragged into a world of superheroes and villains. But somehow, when she falls in with the Big 4, that's exactly what Astrid gets. (Hiccstrid, Jackunzel, hints of MeridaxEret - I wasn't sure where else to put this story.)
1. Start The Fall

**National Novel Writing Month kind of snuck up on… but I couldn't shake this idea, so I guess it all worked out. But do you know long it took me to name this baby? RIDICULOUSLY long (two months), considering how simple the name is. But I figure, if it works for Marvel, why can't it work for me? (Don't answer that.)**

**Standard disclaimers apply: I don't own****_How To Train Your Dragon_****,****_Rise of the Guardians_****,****_Tangled_****,****_Brave_****, or any other intellectual property contained herein. They are all the property of their individual owners; I'm just playing around in their sandboxes.**

_Stormfly_

Chapter 1: Start the Fall

In two years at Burgess University, Astrid had never been in the arts buildings. She was familiar with it, since it was right across a courtyard from the athletics building where she spent a majority of her time. There had just never been any reason for her to go in, since she wasn't taking any art classes, and she didn't have any friends who were.

As soon as she stepped inside she was hit by a vibe that was nothing like any other building on campus. While art students went to the other buildings for non-art classes, this was their territory. They radiated some kind of creative aura that made the place feel like another world entirely.

Astrid couldn't help but feel like an outsider as she looked around the entryway. That was not a feeling she was used to – and definitely not a feeling she liked.

But she squared her shoulders and refused to be intimidated as she walked down the hallway.

She was Astrid Hofferson, after all.

The place was decorated with student work. Mostly framed pictures, but show cases were set up for jewelry, sculptures, and the occasional clothing item.

As she walked down the checker board tiles of the hall, she inhaled, trying to get a grasp of her surroundings. But there were too many smells that she didn't recognize. (That was unnerving.) She did detect the smell of cold metal and car oil, though. Familiar, and reassuring.

Halfway down the main hallway she found the art lab, thanks to the sign sticking out above the open door. She could hear the buzz of conversation from inside as she approached, along with the ringing of metal, and a whirring she couldn't identify.

Just as Astrid reached it, a young woman came out, looking back over her shoulder and nearly walking right into Astrid in her hurry. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine," Astrid said. The girl had managed to stop just before they collided.

The girl smiled, pushing a lock of short brown hair behind her ear. She had large green eyes, and what looked like a smudge of blue paint on her right cheek. "Hi. Can I help you?"

Astrid was fairly sure she had seen the brunette around campus, but couldn't remember exactly where.

She looked down to check the piece of paper Gobber had given her the day before, wondering if this would finally be the time that the name on it changed.

Nope. Still the same.

"I'm looking for someone called Hiccup – I was told he might be here?"

The girl's smile grew for some reason. "You're in luck – he just got here. Over in the corner." She pointed to the back, left corner, and Astrid leaned around the door to look.

Over at a long table set in the corner, a young man stood with his back to them, unwrapping a heavy bolt of brown leather. Was that a school supply? If not, what could anyone possibly need that much leather for?

"Thanks," Astrid said.

"No problem," the girl said cheerfully, before she started off down the hall.

Since Hiccup was still faced away from her, she couldn't get much of an impression. Just that he was tall and gangly, with tousled auburn hair, a dark green tshirt over a pair of jeans. Nothing special, she decided. Definitely nothing to be nervous about.

Now that she was looking into the lab, she saw that the whirring sound was a pottery wheel, where a dark haired girl was bent over a glob of grey clay. (Astrid suspected the clay was the main smell she couldn't identify.)

Assured that she knew exactly what she was getting herself into, Astrid entered the lab and approached the table where Hiccup was working.

He had one hand braced on the table's edge, while the other traced over the pages of a leather bound journal that lay open in front of him. Just as she came up behind him, he started to reach for a pen with his left hand. He caught sight of her from the corner of his eye. His hand missed the pencil, and he stumbled before catching the edge of the table for balance.

"Stupid…" he muttered, scuffing his left foot over the concrete floor.

She was about to be unimpressed… but didn't get the chance.

Now that she saw his face, she decided she would have to rescind her "nothing special" judgment, since it had been very wrong. He had a lightly tanned, rectangular face, with deep set, forest green eyes. And he was not hard to look at.

"Uh, hi," he said, getting his balance back.

"Hi." Attractive, yes. But he was also awkward. She had never known it was possible for those two things to go together. "You're Hiccup?"

"The one and only," he said. "And you're Astrid."

That took her aback. "Have we met?"

He grinned sheepishly. "I follow local racing. And I used to work for Gobber."

Gobber had not mentioned that part. The old mechanic was notoriously difficult to work for, and most of his employees lasted only a couple months. She was sure she had forgotten plenty of those that hadn't been there long. But in that case, she was surprised _Gobber_ would remember him. He frequently forgot employees who still worked for him, never mind ones who weren't there anymore.

"Can I help you with something?" he asked, after a moment of awkward silence.

Astrid searched her brain quickly to remember why she had come looking for him in the first place. This whole encounter had not gone anything how she expected.

"I'm looking to custom order a leather jacket," she said. "Gobber said you could do it for a reasonable price."

Hiccup had leaned back against the table, and when he heard that he rubbed his face. "You gotta be kidding."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Astrid demanded.

"No, sorry," he said, holding up a hand in apology. "Gobber just… never mind. Are you looking for something to wear when you race, or for every day?" He eyed the jacket she was wearing, which was worn at all the hems.

"The season ends next week," she reminded, crossing her arms over her chest.

Technically the racing season _was_ over. The local circuit was closed, and the school competitions were over as well. But the school still had its annual charity event before the summer sports officially moved over for the winter ones.

Hiccup held up his hands in defense. "Hey, they're two different things – I just want to make sure we're on the same page. If you wanted something for next week's race I'd have to say no, since I don't have time."

Okay, he had a good point. Astrid decided to ease up a little. "How long would it take you to make an everyday jacket?"

"Depends," he shrugged. "Two or three weeks, if things go smoothly."

How likely was that? Astrid wondered. But she decided not to ask out loud.

"If you're looking for something custom, you're probably not looking for something normal," he added after a moment. "Especially if Gobber sent you to me. Hopefully." The last word was muttered, and his eyes slid to the side, so she got the impression it wasn't directed at her.

She did not like feeling as though she were missing something important.

Exhaling, she tried to find the best way to phrase what she wanted. It was one thing to tell Gobber what she wanted, since she had known the mechanic as long as she could remember. Telling someone else was strange, since she knew it might sound weird. She settled on plain and simple.

"I want something that would look kind of like armor," she said. "Gobber seemed to think that was right up your alley."

Hiccup grinned, as though it were some kind of inside joke.

"Like what Night Fury wears?" he asked. He seemed to be amused by the idea, though she wasn't sure why that would be funny.

She scowled slightly. At the reference, and at her own confusion.

Night Fury was a member for the Big 4 – Burgess' local team of superhero wannabes. General consensus was that they were a public nuisance who caused more problems than they actually solved (if they solved any at all) – which Astrid was inclined to agree with. Her brother, Anders, seemed to think they were heroes, though she had never been able to understand that view. Astrid might have been impartial towards the whole thing, if she hadn't been forced to listen to her father complain about them so many times. And if Anders hadn't fought with their father over it.

All four members had distinct personalities and appearances. But Night Fury stood out because he rode on a black dragon with a forty-five foot wingspan. That kind of thing left an impression.

"Not that bulky, but kinda, yeah," she admitted, thinking about the layers of black and brown leather armor that Night Fury wore.

Hiccup had already picked up his journal and started sketching. His brow furrowed as he worked his concentration intense.

"How much will this cost?" Astrid asked, realizing she should have asked that soon. Gobber had said "reasonable price", but who knew what that meant. After a summer of racing, money wasn't really a problem. But she had no intention of paying more than she would for a regular jacket.

He didn't look up from his notebook. "Depends on how much times and material it takes. Do you have a budget?"

"Can we keep it in the two fifty range?" That was reasonable, she thought. It was about what she had paid for the jacket she wore now.

"Easy," he said," before turning the journal around for her to see the rough sketch he had drawn up.

Astrid frowned again. "I don't _want_ it to look like Night Fury."

Bad enough someone on campus had started selling tshirts with the Big 4's symbols – and people were wearing them. The last thing she needed was for someone to think she was some kind of groupie.

"Hey, I had two minutes," he said, shrugging. The motion wasn't confined to just his shoulders – his arms, hands and fingers all got involved. "It's a starting point."

She considered the sketch again. As a starting point… Okay, she couldn't deny that was the look she was going for. "Yeah. But the buckle over the shoulder is ridiculous."

"It's not—" He stopped himself and shook his head. He started to say something else, but didn't get a chance before his phone went off. Sighing in exasperation a he pulled the device from his back pocket. Astrid saw his mouth tighten as he read whatever was on the screen.

"Sorry," he said, returning the device to his jeans. "I've gotta run. If you come back tomorrow I should have some sketches done, and we can work out details."

He was moving even as he talked, throwing his journal into his messenger bag and hastily rolling up the bolt of leather before he threw it over his shoulder.

Astrid had to blink, trying to keep up with how fast the situation had changed. One second he had been still, the next he had shut down everything with an efficiency that both surprised and impressed her.

And he was already headed for the door.

"Yeah, sure," she said, trying to keep up. Not something she enjoyed. "What time?"

"Any time after one," he said, turning to speak, but not coming to a full stop.

Astrid was half following, since she had no purpose in the art lab. Just as she reached the door she looked to her right, in the direction he had gone.

He went to set his left foot down on the laminated four but stumbled, as though the foot were giving him trouble with the added weight of the leather. But he took it in stride, shifting his feet and his center of balance to avoid falling. Judging by the precise movements, they were well practiced.

That surprised her, since he didn't seem like someone with a lot of physical training. He looked more like the kind who hung in the back during gym class, praying no one noticed him.

What little she knew of Hiccup was leaving her without a way to form a solid opinion of him.

Then he was gone around the corner, and she was still trying to process what had just happened.

Back outside, she took a deep breath of fresh air as she walked towards her motorcycle, expelling the art building from her lungs.

On the way back to her apartment, she stopped at the nearest Starbucks – a favorite hangout for students from the college.

Just as she pulled off her helmet, something over her head caused a rush of wind that blew her hair around her face with a force she felt all over.

Astrid looked up. Breath catching as she saw the long body of a dragon gliding twenty feet or so above her head, towards downtown. They moved too fast for her to register details about the dragon, or to catch a glimpse of its leather clad rider. Save for the flash of red that was the creature's left tail fin.

A black and blue clad figure tumbled through the air towards the dragon, accompanied by a rush of cold that elicited a shiver when it reached her. Jack Frost.

On the sidewalks, nearly everyone had pulled out their phones to snap pictures. A few had started running towards downtown. Something was obviously going on for them to be flying out in the open in broad daylight – and flying so low.

But wherever the Big 4 went, there was usually property damage, to say the least. So why people wanted to be there was beyond Astrid. It seemed a lot safer to just watch it on the news – if you insisted on watching it at all. She didn't understand why people seemed to enjoy watching the fights so much. What was the point?

Of course, she had never been big on spectator sports of any kind.

Still... she watched until they were out of sight. She wondered what was happening, only in as far as it might affect her. If anything was going to stop her from getting her coffee (if something was about to crush Starbucks, for example), or prevent her from getting home, she kind of wanted some kind of warning. Though they were flying in the opposite direction.

Until now, she had only seen the Big 4 in person once or twice. And this was the closest she had ever been.

Shaking it off, she headed into Starbucks for her latte. If anything did crush the place, hopefully she could be in and out before it did.

Inside, the smell of coffee mingled with the buzz of agitated conversation.

"Who's downtown?" one of the baristas asked. "Have they said?" She leaned over the counter, towards the kid who sat at the nearest table, with his laptop and several books that had apparently been abandoned as soon as the "news" broke.

"Gothel," he said, adjusting his glasses, and not looking away from the screen. "She's got a bunch of thugs, but I don't see the Stabbington Brothers."

"I think they're still in jail," the barista said.

Astrid lost interest at that point. If it was Gothel, it probably wasn't going to affect her. The woman and her thugs weren't after destruction, or control of the city, or whatever the others wanted. They were just in it for the money. Usually they went for one of the banks. None of which were between here and Astrid's apartment. The worst she had ever done was attack City Hall in an attempt to hold some officials hostage for a ransom. "Attempt" being the operative word, since she hadn't gotten very far.

Thankfully, the second barista, who didn't seem at all interested in the fight, since she was wiping down the counters.

"Don't they have anything better to do?" the barista asked, in a thick southern drawl, as she put the rag down and came up to the other side of the register. Tiana, according to her name tag.

"Who?" Astrid asked. "People? Or the Big 4?"

Tiana snickered. "What can I get for you?"

"A grande caramel latte," she said, pulling her wallet from the pocket of her worn leather jack. Hopefully Hiccup could get her new one down quickly, before this one fell to pieces.

Once Tiana handed back the gift card Astrid used to pay, she went to the espresso machine. Not bothering to try and tear her coworker away from the conversation with Laptop Boy. Astrid didn't pay attention to them, not giving another thought to the ongoing fight.

Not until Tablet Boy jolted half out of his chair with a wordless exclamation.

"What?" the barista asked. "_What?_" She leaned so far over the counter she seemed just about ready to jump over the counter to see what was happening on the screen. Astrid actually felt sorry for her.

A moment later, all that was forgotten.

"Night Fury fell of the dragon!"


	2. Adrenaline Rush

**EDIT: 1/22/16: I'm currently posting this story to Archiveofourown (Songofafreeheart, if you're looking for me over there), and using it as a chance to go through and edit this story. There are too many chapters for my comfort, and probably a lot of unnecessary baggage that doesn't contribute. And, of course, all the typos…**

**So I combined the original chapters 2 and 3 (Adrenaline Rush and Come Back Down), into one chapter. **

Chapter 2: Adrenaline Rush

Astrid wasn't quite sure how she ended up behind Laptop Boy's chair, shoulder to shoulder with the barista as they watched the images flashing across the screen. She wasn't sure why she cared.

But as soon as he had said that Night Fury had fallen, the barista had vaulted over the counter, and Astrid had followed without thinking.

It was a lot worse than she had assumed from "Night Fury fell off his dragon".

Burgess University had been voted to have the most extreme sports team in the country, and Astrid had a full scholarship to the University because she was _on_ that team. Between that, and racing in the local circuits, she had seen people fall and crash. Motorcycle crashes were bad because the rider often ended up with a six hundred pound motorcycle on top of them, if they weren't thrown a couple hundred feet. Especially when that motorcycle had been going an excess of 80 miles an hour. That was bad. And that was along the lines of what she had expected.

She had forgotten about the involvement of a dragon.

This was so much worse.

The camera was focused on dragon and rider. The same way her eyes were focused on the laptop screen.

They were up among the tops of the skyscrapers, both spinning and tumbling as they plunged down…

…down…

…down…

They both reached for each other, their movements obviously frantic. Night Fury trying to grab onto the saddle.

"How did this happen?" Barista Girl asked, just as Astrid was about to ask why the dragon couldn't fly on its own.

Laptop Boy shook his head.

On the back of his chair, Astrid's hands clenched the wooden bar so tightly the tendons of her knuckles ached.

"This has happened before," Barista Girl said, but she was clearly trying to reassure herself.

"That doesn't mean they're going to make it this time," Astrid said. Her stomach clenched tighter with each passing second. She was unable to tear her eyes away from night Fury as he and the dragon continued to scramble.

Just because she had run a track before didn't mean she wouldn't mess up the next time.

"Where are the others?" she asked.

"Frost and Braveheart are pinned down," Laptop Boy said. "Sun Flower isn't there. Come on. Come on."

Night Fury reached out, and for a moment it looked as though he had gotten a hold of the saddle. Astrid was surprised at the strength of her relief.

But a moment later it became clear that he had missed.

And they were getting closer to the ground.

The dragon roared. A panicked sound made them all wince.

"Oh, stars," Astrid whispered.

She didn't want to see this. She really didn't want to see what she was about to happen. But when she tried to look away, her eyes refused to obey her brain.

A blue glow started at the bottom of the screen. At first she ignored it. When it grew stronger, she thought something was wrong with the laptop. For an instant she thought maybe the device was going to die.

Wouldn't that just fit.

Then Night Fury hit a ramp made of white blue ice.

Jack Frost, she realized. The glow had been his powers as he made the ramp.

"That's brilliant!" Laptop Boy exclaimed.

Night Fury slid down the ice ramp, the dragon a foot or so behind him. The camera followed them down the ramp's subtle decline until it leveled out and they slowed to a stop.

Astrid felt her shoulders sag in relief.

The dragon rolled a couple times, growling in his throat as he slipped and slid across the ice in an attempt to get back on its feet. Night Fury himself was doing a similar dance. His metal peg leg seemed to give him a hard time as he tried to get his feet back under him.

And then Braveheart was running onto the screen, her curly red hair bouncing with her movements. Her bow in one hand, she reached the other out to Night Fury. He seemed to accept it without hesitation, though it was hard to see since his spiked helmet covered his whole face.

In one movement she pulled him off the ground and onto his feet. No sooner did he have his balance then she punched his shoulder so hard he stumbled back and she yelled something at him. They weren't close enough to the camera for her to hear what she was saying. But Astrid got the impression it was something along the lines of "don't ever do that again!"

In only a few seconds the archer had calmed down, though her mouth was still moving.

Night Fury nodded, going over to the dragon that was now back on his feet and shaking his head. He stretched his massive black wings, and rose onto his back legs with a roar so loud it rattled the laptop's speakers, which had suddenly gone tinny as they tried to process the sound.

Astrid could hear it coming from all five devices that weren't hooked up to headphones. One girl _with_ headphones scrambled to throw them off it was so loud.

"Gothel is done," Astrid murmured, staring at the fury she could see in every line of the dragon's frame. His teeth weren't exactly sharp or terrifying. But with the way they were currently bared, Astrid decided she really wouldn't want to be on that creature's bad side.

As soon as the dragon had returned to all fours, he looked back at his rider expectantly. Could that kind of intelligence in a dragon be real? She didn't think she was imagining it.

Night Fury nodded again, running over to jump into the saddle.

The camera panned out, and for the first time Astrid could see Jack Frost on the roof of City Hall. He was currently taking on three of Gothel's thugs alone.

He was quick, and light on his feet. Always moving. And never going where you expected. He lunged towards one thug, then you blinked and he was sweeping the legs out from under another. He had no trouble holding his own, and Astrid had to admit she was impressed.

She had watched the Big 4 fight only one other time, not long after they had first appeared in the city. They had struggled both in the fight, and in trying to function cohesively as a team. She had gotten the impression that they barely knew each other.

Actually, there had only been three of them. Night Fury, Sun Flower, and Braveheart, who was the obvious wild card. And they had been fighting Jack Frost.

How he had ended up on the team, Astrid couldn't begin to guess. Though it had certainly been talked about enough when it happened.

Three years ago, Frost had taken on the others and won with very little trouble. She was pretty sure he had been laughing while he left them in the dust. Astrid had certainly been rolling her eyes as she walked away from the TV.

Now, it was completely different. Sun Flower wasn't there, but the other three were obviously familiar with each other. They had developed their skills, and figured out how to use their strengths to cover each other's weaknesses.

Frost paused, touching his ear (an earpiece?), even as one of the thugs started toward him. He didn't even appear to glance over at the attacker. He flicked a wrist, and the thug's feet were frozen to the roof.

He nodded, and turned back to the rest of his opponents. A couple more had gotten up, so he was facing four.

"What is he doing?" Barista Girl asked, as Frost flew around the thugs, forcing them to take a step back, closer to each other, and away from Gothel.

When Astrid had been young, she had visited her grandparents' farm nearly every summer, where she had been required to help with the chores. Many times she had watched the two dogs heard the flock of sheep, moving them from one pasture to another. So she recognized exactly what Frost was doing.

"He's herding them away from Gothel," she said.

He had already proven that he could have just frozen them to the roof, so he was obviously playing with them. And probably enjoying the game.

The camera left Frost, and focused again on Night Fury as he swooped towards Gothel.

The woman coward on the roof of City Hall, arms raised to shield her face as he landed right on top of her.

Actually, Night Fury didn't seem to have anything to do with it. The dragon appeared to be in control.

Astrid's stomach clenched again as the dragon pulled his head back, mouth open and teeth bared. Was he going to bite the woman in half? Or hit her with a blast of fire? She didn't really want to see either. And the wavering camera told her the cameraman was ready to avert the lens at any moment.

Had the Big 4 ever killed anyone? She didn't think so.

The dragon roared again, and Gothel tried to edge away. She was on her back, with the dragon's paws pinning her down. The sound waves seemed to paralyze her. Astrid wondered if the woman's life was flashing before her eyes.

The roar ended, leaving a strange, reverberating silence, both through the speakers, and in Starbucks. It didn't even seem as though anyone was breathing. Astrid certainly wasn't.

They all waited for the axe to fall.

Instead, the dragon surged forward. As first Astrid thought they were just going to leave Gothel there. It certainly didn't look as though she were going anywhere of her own volition any time soon. But the dragon swooped towards the camera. It was a credit to the cameraman that he didn't shy away – which was why they were able to see Gothel dangling limply from the dragon's claws.

They deposited Gothel just inside the police barricade that had been set up to keep people away from the fight. (What did it say about human stupidity that a barricade was actually needed?)

The camera followed Night Fury and the dragon as they circled the plaza. At first she thought maybe it was a victory lap (even she would admit that they had earned one). But then she saw Braveheart still standing by the ice ramp. She reached up a gloved hand, which Night Fury leaned over to grab. The dragon rose higher as Braveheart vaulted up into the saddle.

As they flew over City Hall, Frost jumped off the roof, the wind catching him. Gothel's thugs were all trapped in various sized blocks of ice. Either frozen to the roof, or bodies encased from the neck down.

Speaking of.

The camera cut back to the heap on the ground that was Gothel. She was just starting to rise to her feet, though visibly shaken. Astrid was impressed the woman actually made it to her feet at all. But wasn't surprised at all when Gothel's legs gave out and she fell back to the ground. The laughter over the speakers was echoed in Starbucks.

Astrid found her heart coming down from a racing rhythm, and she felt the slight tremor she always got when adrenaline started to wear off.

Well, now she understood why people seemed to like watching these fights so much. For someone who wasn't a stunt rider, used to the adrenaline rush that came from actually being in the action, this would probably feel like a buzz.

Astrid backed away from Laptop Boy's chair, taking her steps carefully to ensure she didn't end up doing an impression of Gothel's collapse.

Laptop Boy and Barista Girl were talking animatedly, drowning out the TV journalist, who was conducting an on-the-spot interview with one of the police officers.

In the background, Astrid could see the ice ramp Frost had created. It extended almost the full length of the plaza. The camera hadn't shown it in the heat of the fight, but Frost had known exactly what he was doing.

The incline started out steep so it wouldn't cause a dangerous jolt, before it leveled out, extending almost the entire length of the plaza so that they wouldn't run out of ice before they ran out of momentum. The ramp itself was curved like a waterslide, so they wouldn't fall off.

She caught sight of the fountain in the center of the plaza, which was frozen solid as well.

As the camera panned around to the reporter, Astrid saw that one of the statues in front of City Hall had been knocked over and fallen to pieces.

"Camicazi, if you don't get back to work, I will tell the manager," Tiana called.

Barista Girl – Camicazi, apparently – jolted and looked back at the counter.

"Oh, right." She went back around the counter, to where a couple customers had come up to the register now that the excitement was over.

That was enough to get Astrid moving as well.

"Don't forget your drink," Tiana called, as Astrid started towards the door. She went back to grab her latte before heading outside.

Leaning back against her motorcycle, Astrid exhaled as she took a sip of her drink. The last of her adrenaline was fading, though she expected it would be a while before she fully relaxed.

#

"Let's not to that again," Hiccup said shakily, pulling off his helmet now that he was back on the ground, and away from cameras. He took a deep breath, trying to steady himself before he unhooked his prosthetic foot from Toothless's saddle.

"Agreed," Jack said, rubbing his shoulder. He had been forced to turn around from his own fight to create the ice ramp, and been tackled to the ground by one of the thugs. One who probably looked worse for wear because of that stunt.

Merida, already out of the saddle, grunted something that sounded like an agreement.

They were inside the garage of the ranch house they all lived in. Far enough from the city (and everything else) that Hiccup could keep a dragon (or ten) without drawing attention. And since he had inherited it on his father's death, it saved them all a lot of money for rent.

As soon as Hiccup was on the concrete floor, Toothless turned to nudge his hand with his scaly nose.

Hiccup grinned as he touched the dragon's forehead, rubbing the side of his neck. "You okay, Bud?"

Toothless gave a gummy smile, bobbing his head in what Hiccup believed to be a nod, before he bumped his head against Hiccup's chest.

"Yeah, I'm okay," he said, exhaling. "Shaken, but okay."

He had fallen off Toothless before. Everything from being knocked off, to losing his grip in the middle of a loop when they were upside down. He was usually able to get back in the saddle and pull up, though. This was the first time one of the others had had to save him.

It was an experience he hoped he never had to repeat.

From the way his best friend was nuzzling him, Toothless felt the same way.

"Where's Rapunzel?" Jack asked suddenly, looking around the garage that usually held five of them, instead of just four.

Hiccup had to rack his brain for a minute to remember what Rapunzel had said before she left the art lab that afternoon. His normally well ordered thoughts were currently a mess.

"She went to the art store in Bellevue," he said. "The one in town is out of her normal paints."

"Then I'm gonna go order take out," Merida said, stretching her arms above her head as she turned towards the door into the main house. Her quiver bounced against her hip as she moved, her bow slung over her shoulder.

"Not pizza!" Jack called.

Merida waved him off, then closed the door behind her.

Hiccup chuckled, still petting the dragon that had begun rubbing up against him like an oversized cat.

"You okay?" Jack asked after a minute.

"Yeah," Hiccup said, nodding. "Thanks, Jack."

Jack shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck. "Hey, I owe you."

As far as Hiccup was concerned, any debt Jack owed him had long since been repaid. But his friend held onto the belief that he was still indebted, and Hiccup had given up trying to convince him otherwise.

Toothless pranced over to Jack, nuzzling his side in thanks.

Jack grinned, scratching the dragon's forehead. "No problem, Toothless."

Deciding that he had sufficiently paid his gratitude, Toothless returned to Hiccup's side.

"All I want to do now is eat and crash," Hiccup said, rubbing his face. With adrenaline draining from his system, exhaustion was setting in. But he was also starving, so he couldn't sleep before he ate.

"I like that plan," Jack said.

Hiccup started to nod, but groaned as he remembered. "I can't."

"Why not?" Jack asked. "Please don't say homework."

Looking up at his friend, Hiccup tried to fight back his grin. "Guess who came to commission me today."

"You only get that dopey grin when Astrid is involved," Jack said. "Seriously, dude, work on that."

He gave up trying to hide. "She wants a new leather jacket that looks like armor."

"Right up your alley."

"I had to run out when I got your text, but I promised I'd have some ideas for her tomorrow."

"So do it tomorrow morning," Jack said.

"I have to sleep on it," Hiccup reminded. It was one of his artistic quirks, that he had to draw something, sleep on it, and decide the next day if he actually liked it. After his brain had a chance to mull it over.

Jack, who was not an artist, shrugged. "But, hey. It's Astrid."

"I'm pretty sure she had no clue who I was before Gobber recommended me," Hiccup said. "Remind me to thank him for that. He seems to think he's some kind of match maker."

"She knows who you are now," Jack pointed out. Rapunzel's optimism must be rubbing off on him.

Hiccup nodded, scratching Toothless's forehead again.

They both looked up at the sound of a car approaching the garage, and Hiccup noticed Jack's expression change the moment they recognized the car.

"You know, you give me such a hard time for my 'dopey grin', but you're not much better when Rapunzel walks in."

"Shut up," Jack said.

Rapunzel pulled up just outside the door of the garage, since the space never actually held cars. Only humans, dragons, and equipment. She threw open the door and half flew inside, straight towards Hiccup.

Toothless perked up the moment she came into the garage, leaving Hiccup's side to head butt her hand.

"Hey, Toothless," she said, glancing at the dragon as she began to scratch him from habit. She immediately looked back at Hiccup, her green eyes wide with concern. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Hiccup assured, "Jack caught us just in time."

"You're sure?" she asked. "I mean—"

"We're both fine," Hiccup said, realizing this was just a warm up for when his mother got him. "I promise."

Rapunzel hesitated a moment before throwing her arms around him in a relieved hug. Hiccup smiled as he returned it with equal strength. He and Rapunzel had, at some point, come to look at each other as the siblings they had never had. Which meant he got even more of her worry than the others. (Not even Jack, who seemed more than capable of taking care of himself.)

"He's fine – I'm the one who get bruised," Jack said after a moment, as much to help Hiccup as to get her attention, probably.

Rapunzel pulled back, and Hiccup saw a blush dusting over her cheeks even as she turned to Jack with a playful smirk that bordered on flirtatious.

"What? Tough guy Jack Frost can't handle getting knocked around?" she asked, hands on her hips.

Jack scoffed in mock indignation. "I can handle it. But I wouldn't mind some sympathy. Or gratitude. I did save Hiccup's like, ya know."

Hiccup rolled his eyes. So much for "I owe you".

"Did you get what you needed?" Hiccup asked, before the air could get any thicker with their romantic tension.

"I did," Rapunzel said. "I brought food, too."

"You better go stop Merida before she orders more," Hiccup chuckled. Though food rarely went to waste in their house.

Rapunzel nodded, going back to pull out the bags of food and art supplies from the passenger seat. She headed into the house, but paused in front of Jack. With a warm smile, she rose on her toes to kiss his cheek.

"Thank you, Jack," she said, before vanishing into the house.

Hiccup quirked an eyebrow at the lopsided grin spreading across his friend's face.

Jack's powers receded, white hair and blue eyes turning a warm brown, his skin taking on a warmer tone that spread from the place Rapunzel had kissed.

Jack had been flirting with Rapunzel even before his rehabilitation. Mostly in a teasing way. Since he had joined the team though, Hiccup had watched his whole attitude towards Rapunzel shift. All the cockiness had faded, until even Hiccup was no longer uncomfortable with the thought of them together. Now he was just wondering why Jack wouldn't actually make a move so their relationship would be official.

They both watched her go.

Toothless looked at Hiccup, debating if his human needed him. He seemed to decide that Hiccup was safe for the time being, because he followed Rapunzel, and the smell of food. It never stopped being funny, how 1800 pounds of dragon had to twist to get through a doorway that was too narrow for him. Which might be part of why Hiccup kept procrastinating on his plan to widen it...

After girl and dragon were gone, the friends looked at each other. Their amusement faded quickly.

"I keep trying to figure out if it's a good thing that she doesn't mention Gothel," Jack said. "She agrees she shouldn't be there when we fight her, but the last few times she hasn't said anything."

"Maybe you should ask your Psychology professor," Hiccup said. "I don't know." He wanted to brush it off – it didn't seem like too big a deal. But it was a serious question, and something that might have to be addressed.

Another moment passed, then Jack yawned. "Well, you can do your drawings. I'm gonna eat and crash."

They both went into the house, through the laundry/mud room, and down a short hallway to the spacious kitchen, were Rapunzel and Merida (still in her Braveheart uniform) were serving Chinese food onto plates. They talked animatedly, both laughing. Toothless had taken a seat on the wooden floor where he was out of the way, but close enough to be sure he wouldn't be left out when feeding time came. Not that Rapunzel would forget him.

Jack, his powers still down so he looked like a normal person, began setting the table with plates, chopsticks, and glasses of water.

A fresh wave of fatigue washed over Hiccup. He stumbled, and leaned his shoulder against the wall to brace himself.

He had come very close to dying just a couple hours earlier. He'd had a few near death experiences before. He was missing his left leg to prove it. It was inevitable as a dragon rider with serious thrill issues, and as a vigilante. But today…

If Jack hadn't acted when he did, even a second or two later, Hiccup didn't think he or Toothless would have made it.

The whole thing was terrifying and surreal, and it kept hitting him.

But he was there. He was alive. He was listening to Jack and Merida bicker good naturedly as they prepared for what was, essentially, a family dinner. A ragtag family, but a family none the less.

And to complete that family, the front door opened, and Valka Haddock came in. Her eyes looked around the living room, searching, and taking inventory of everyone. Until her eyes landed on Hiccup. Even from across the room, Hiccup saw the relief wash over her face. Eyes welling with tears that didn't quite fall, she looked him over with obvious concern. Searching for any sign of an injury.

Pushing away from the wall, Hiccup went over to meet her in the living room. Braced to assure her that, yes, he was fine. He didn't have a scratch on him. His bruises were nothing to worry about.

But the words died before either of them could say a word. Instead, he pulled her into a hug.

All his life, he had struggled every time he stood next to his mountain of a father. But with his mother, when he hugged her, he knew just from the feel of her that they were flesh and blood.

He still wore his Night Fury armor, the buckles and gadgets not entirely comfortable as he tightened the hug. But at the moment, he didn't really care.

"Oh, Hiccup," she whispered, her arms tightening around his shoulders.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Hiccup registered that the others had fallen silent.

"I love you, Mom."

Valka's shoulders shuddered with either a laugh or a sob, he couldn't be sure. Her hold on him tightened.

His hands clenched the fabric of her back, not wanting to let go.

"I love you, too, Hiccup," she said.

Tomorrow he would face whatever needed to be faced. And there would be plenty to deal with.

For that moment, he decided to count his blessings. That he was still alive, and he had his friends.


	3. Advance Shadows

**EDIT 1/24/16 Chapters 4 and 5 (You Know My Name and Advance Shadows) have been combined into the new chapter 3. **

**Also, according to the Disney wiki, Hans' last name is Westergaard, so I'm changing that here in the fic. (Though, honestly, I thought Southisle was kind of clever on my part… even if people did say the name was a little strange.)**

Chapter 3: Advance Shadows

Astrid had an eleven-thirty class, so she would have no problem being in the art lab at one, or there about. She arrived early, so she took her usual seat and pulled out her phone.

The Burgess Daily website had six articles about the Big 4's fight the previous day. Everything from the front page article about _what_ had happened, and editorials as to why the Big 4 were public menaces, to an editorial about what a bad influence when society should be focusing on solving problems without violence.

Astrid wasn't a pacifist by any means: she was inclined to think life would be a whole lot simpler if things were still solved through fists. If words were going to work with someone like Gothel, it would have worked a long time ago. And if they didn't work on Gothel, how would they work on the more sinister members of the Big 4's rogues gallery. She might not have paid much attention over the years, but Mor'du didn't seem like the kind of person to listen to reason.

And did anyone want to get close enough to Pitch Black to talk to him?

Gothel herself had been carted off to the prison, and she had still been so shaken from her encounter with the dragon she hadn't protested at all. Not until much later, anyway.

Astrid wasn't sure any more what she thought about the Big 4.

She knew her opinion had changed, she just wasn't sure how much.

Two hundred and seventeen feet.

It was agreed that Night Fury had fallen approximately two hundred and seventeen feet.

Of course, that also included the estimated three foot height of Jack Frost's ice ramp – which had already started to melt down before anything could measure it. It had melted down to big puddle, of course, but people still seemed to find some problem with it.

They were also complaining about the broken statue, and how much that would cost to replace. Along with the fact that one of the pipes in the frozen fountain had burst from the cold. That would also need to be repaired. Astrid rolled her eyes and hit the back button.

He had still fallen more than two hundred feet. Trying to protect a bunch of people who were more interested in nitpicking than saying thank you.

She told herself she wouldn't, but she still ended up watching the video of the fall, which was embedded in the main article. Her stomach clenched and twisted as Night Fury plunged downward, frantically reaching out to his dragon. And the dragon did the same, scratching as the air with his large claws to try and catch his rider.

"Astrid?"

It took considerable effort for Astrid to tear her eyes away from the screen. Looking up, she found a petite brunette standing in from of her desk. After a moment Astrid recognized her as the one who had pointed her towards Hiccup in the art lab the day before. Though the smudge of blue paint had been washed off. Her brown bangs were held back with a wide purple headband, showing off her heart shaped face.

"Yeah?" Astrid pulled out one of her ear buds.

The girl smiled, not seeming to notice Astrid's wariness. She took a manila envelope from the stack of books she carried, and handed it to her. "Hiccup asked me to give these to you."

"Oh, thanks." Astrid accepted the envelope. Her name – Astrid Hofferson – was written across the front in a neat, blocky hand.

The brunette smiled again before she headed to a seat by one of the windows.

Forgetting about the girl, Astrid opened the envelope and pulled out three sheets of paper. Their thickness and tooth suggested they had been taken from a sketch book. On each was a detailed jacket design. Each was slightly different in cut and detail, and included a price based on estimated supply and labor.

She forgot about the video of Night Fury's fall as she looked at the designs and tried to figure out which she liked best. One was, again, too similar to Night Fury's armor for her taste… but she hesitated before casting it off. Because she did like the design.

By the time the teacher called the class to order, at eleven twenty-eight, she was mostly decided on the second design. She didn't fully put them away, occasionally pulling them out to glance at when she got bored with the class.

She had been thinking about commissioning a custom jacket for a couple years now, since her racing had started providing enough in the way of funds to make the idea plausible. Though she had been forced to put the thought aside for a while when she had decided to move into her own apartment.

She would never admit it aloud, but seeing the designs Hiccup had drawn – which were exactly what she'd had in mind – got her a little excited.

Partway through class, she glanced over at the girl who had delivered the designs. She sat in the sunlight that came through the window, chewing on the eraser of her pencil as she looked down at her work. Occasionally she glanced up at the teacher for a moment or two.

Class was let out eight minutes early – the teacher as eager as any of the students to get it over with.

Most students shoved their things into their bags and flooded out of the room. But Astrid wasn't in a hurry – she had nothing to do before she went to the art lab. So she leaned back in her chair, ignoring the people walking around her, as she took her time gathering her thing.

After a moment an indignant "hey!" from the doorway made her glance over.

"Sorry," said the young man who had just come into the room, without glancing back at the boy he had bumped into. He pulled down the hood of his blue sweatshirt as he made a beeline for the seat by the window, where the brunette still sat. His brown hair was a windblown mess, but his grin was impossible to miss. "Hey."

The brunette smiled at him, a feint blush growing on her cheeks. "Hey. I have your lunch." She reached into her messenger bag and pulled out what looked like a Japanese bento box. "It's leftovers from last night. Don't worry – no fried rice."

"Thank you," he said, accepting the lunch. "I have Social Studies next, and after yesterday, Tremaine is going to be insufferable."

Astrid didn't _try_ to eavesdrop, but they weren't exactly keeping their voices down in the otherwise quiet classroom.

"Are you okay?" the girl asked, her voice taking on a deep note of concern.

He shrugged, pushing his glasses up his nose, but even Astrid could tell from his posture that he was feigning nonchalance. "I didn't get much sleep last night."

"But you went to bed right after dinner,"

He shifted from one foot to the other, adjusting the straps of his backpack.

Astrid didn't catch what the girl said next, but thought she might have heard the word "nightmare".

He shrugged again. "Yesterday was kinda… Never mind. I gotta get to Social Studies, because apparently I am a masochist. I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive," he said, his deep voice taking on a mischievous tilt. "I'll see you at home. Thanks again for lunch." He had already started walking backwards, but when he finished speaking he spun on his heel towards the door. He caught sight of Astrid as he did. Or, pretended to. She suspected he had known she was there the whole time.

She wasn't sure how to interoperate the way the corner of his mouth quirked upward when he saw her. But she didn't miss it.

He did a mock two fingered salute as he passed her. "Astrid."

It was starting to bug her how everyone seemed to know her name.

#

She took her time making her way toward the art lab, stopping at the student café to pick up a sandwich for a quick lunch.

She was passing the athletics building when the doors opened and a wave of students came out, just leaving either a classroom or the locker rooms. They clustered into groups, talking to friends as they moved at various paces.

Except for one girl, who left the others behind with her long, purposeful stride. She was impossible to miss, with a lion's mane of red hair that bounced around her with every step she. The duffle bag slung over one shoulder didn't seem to slow her down.

On the front of her black tshirt was Braveheart's Celtic knotwork shield.

Their eyes met for a moment, and Astrid recognized that she was being assessed… But the red head looked away before she could tell what the verdict had been.

Astrid frowned, but kept walking.

The halls of the art building were more crowded than they had been the day before, since it was earlier in the day. It made the creative vibe that much stronger. A few people eyed her as though she were a trespasser on sacred ground.

Yeesh. Intense much?

She reached the lab and peered around the doorway to see if Hiccup was there.

Like the hall, it was busier than yesterday. All four pottery wheels were in use, whirring away. At one table a boy worked at what looked as though it might become a bust sculpture. On the far wall, under an open window, a girl wielded a blowtorch over something wedged into what looked like a brick.

Hiccup, and his ridiculous bolt of brown leather, were at the same work table he had been at the day before. Once more he had unrolled it part way, but he wasn't actually working at it. Instead he sat on a plastic chair, his head in one hand. And there was the brunette again, with a hand on his arm as she crouched beside the chair.

After a moment Hiccup took a deep breath and sat up straight, clearly trying to gather his composure.

Astrid approached, since it didn't look too much as though she would be intruding.

"I'm fine," she heard him saying. "I just… got dizzy." He looked up and saw her, though she wasn't sure if he had heard her coming, or seen her in his periphery. Probably the latter, since the lab was so loud. "Uh, hi, Astrid."

"Is now a bad time?"

"No, sorry." He stood up. Something about the way he did so – particularly the way he set his feet – seemed strange, but she wasn't exactly why. He used his right foot almost exclusively, then shifted some of his weight onto his left only once he was sure he had his balance. "Astrid, this is my friend, Rapunzel. Rapunzel, Astrid."

"Hello," Rapunzel said. She had stood up a moment before Hiccup, and was already picking her messenger bag up off the floor.

Astrid nodded, glad to finally have a name for the girl.

"You're sure you're okay?" Rapunzel asked Hiccup.

"You're as bad as my mother," he said, his grin softening at the words. "Yes, Rapunzel. I am as fine as usual."

Astrid might be wrong, but that phrasing didn't sound especially reassuring. So she understood the crease in Rapunzel's brow.

But Rapunzel seemed to accept it, since she sighed as she gave Hiccup a quick hug. "I'll see you later. Have a good day, Astrid."

"Later," Hiccup said, a promise in his tone.

"Thanks," Astrid said, watching as Rapunzel walked away before she turned back to hiccup.

"She had to choose between art and nursing," Hiccup said, chuckling as he ran a hand through his hair. "I'm kinda glad she chose art."

"I'll bet," Astrid said, unable to resist a smirk. "If she'd gone with nursing, she'd have needles to poke you with."

Hiccup groaned. "All because I got dizzy. She'll probably tell my mom, who will make me drink a spoonful of molasses, because she'll think I'm iron deficient or something."

Astrid snickered.

After a moment, Hiccup shook off the subject and looked back at her. "Did you look at the sketches?"

"Yeah." She opened her messenger bag, pulling out the designs and flipping to the second one. "I like this one."

Hiccup nodded. "I thought about adding a hood, but I realized that wouldn't work very well on a motorcycle."

"Probably not."

She followed Hiccup over to his worktable, where he pushed the leather aside to make space. Setting the page on the table surface, he reached for the pencil he had left in the open pages of his notebook. He started to bring the pencil to him… then paused to flip the notebook shut.

Before Astrid could think about the motion, Hiccup had already started talking about tapered versus straight sleeves, and she had to rack her brain to see if she had a preference for one of the other. (She didn't, so he said they could start with straight sleeves and bring them in if she wanted.) He made a note next to the wristband on the design.

She wondered if this was something normal people thought about, or if it was just because he was a designer of some type.

They spent nearly twenty minutes going over the details.

With the neckline, at least, she knew exactly what she wanted: a collar that could flip up over her throat. Another note, then he was drawing quick lines to represent the collar she wanted.

"A buckle closure would be too heavy," he said thoughtfully, rubbing his jaw as he considered the design as though it were a puzzle.

Looked over at him, Astrid noticed the reddish brown stubble along his jaw. She quickly looked back down at the page, not sure why that left her slightly… embarrassed? No, not embarrassed. More, it had caused a flutter inside of her. The fact she didn't understand _why_ made her like the sensation even less.

"Couldn't the zipper just go all the way up?" she asked, focusing her attention back on the project at hand.

"Sure, but that's kind plain," he said.

Well, he had a point there.

"I'll figure that out later," he said. Then they were onto the exact fit of the jacket.

She had never realized just how much detail went into one jacket. They covered everything from the exact length of the sleeves, to whether or not she wanted the buckle at the bottom centered or off centered (off centered). Then the color (very dark brown).

"Do you need a down payment?" Astrid asked, when the stream up questions stopped, and Hiccup stood up straight.

"Just so I can buy the supplies," he said. "That, and your measurements, and I can get started."

"You don't have enough here to get started?" she asked, half joking, as she gestured to the bolt of leather that still sat just beyond him on the table. She was half hoping to find out what the heck it was all for.

"That… is already spoken for," he said, rubbing his forehead. "Personal project."

Astrid quirked an eyebrow, eyeing the leather… but decided not to press it. She wasn't curious enough to ask out right.

The measuring process was quick, and he had her do her own torso measurements. He didn't look up from the page as he wrote down the numbers she read off.

They exchanged numbers so he could call her when they were ready for the first fitting, and she handed over a hundred dollar bill she had brought for just that purpose.

As she gathered up her things, Hiccup began rolling up the bolt of leather again. He was a few steps behind her when she left the lab, the bolt over his shoulder again.

"Aren't you gonna stay and work on that?" she asked.

He shrugged. "I can work on it at home. And I have to go across town to get the stuff for your jacket."

When they reached the door, she held it open for him. They said good bye there, heading for different parking lots. But she glanced over her shoulder a couple times, so she saw him get into a truck parked in one of the nearest handicap spots.

She still couldn't figure out what to make of him.

#

Jack pulled his motorcycle into the garage of the ranch house to find the place in a state of chaos. Not exactly a new state. But he still quirked an eyebrow as he looked around.

A bolt of brown leather lay, partly unrolled, on Hiccup's worktable, which had been pulled away from the wall so there was plenty of space to walk around it. Another bolt, in a lighter shade, leaned against the wall in the corner. Tools were strewn across the workspace, scraps of leather already on the floor.

Hiccup and Toothless were both absent.

Parking his bike next to Merida's, Jack pulled off his helmet and gloves as he looked around.

The garage was spacious – originally intended to fit three cars with ease. But it hadn't held a car in as long as Jack had been there. It had been insulated and finished, hard wood laid on the floor, a few carpets set down strategically.

One car's worth of space was dedicated to Hiccup's work. The other two divided between motorcycle parking, the corner Toothless had claimed as his own, and the lounge area they had set up with a couch, an arm chair, and a couple beanbags. A small television was turned on to the local news network whenever any of them was in the garage.

It was currently on, so Jack knew Hiccup probably hadn't gone very far. He glanced at the screen, making sure there was nothing that needed his attention – and that Hiccup hadn't had to run off to some fight.

Sure enough, by the time he got his jacket off, Hiccup was coming back. Trailed, as usual, by the ebony dragon.

"I need there to be eight days in the week," Hiccup said, when he saw Jack, returning to the work table. Picking up the rotator knife on the table, he popped the blade out and replaced it with one he already held. He had probably gone to get the blade from his room. "And we need to work on the basement soon."

Jack ignored the basement comment.

"That bad?" he asked, approaching the worktable.

"Toothless needs a new saddle, and a new tail," Hiccup said. "I also have to make a jacket for Astrid. I can't do both in a week, but they both need to be done this week. And I have class. And homework. And I have to take Toothless flying. And eat. And sleep. And fight maniacs."

It sounded like he needed ten days, not eight.

"Not now, Toothless," Hiccup sighed, since the dragon's head had popped up at the word 'flying'. "We'll go tonight."

Toothless made a sound of obvious dissatisfaction deep in her throat as he curled up again.

Jack grinned. The dragon may not be able to speak, but he certainly made his opinions known as plainly as any of them. He would laugh at anyone who suggested Toothless _wasn't_ intelligent.

After a moment, he looked back to Hiccup. "Is there any way I can help?"

Hiccup had turned his attention back to the leather, but he looked up with a lopsided grin. "You could try and stay out of trouble."

Jack smirked. "No promises." Though, internally, he resolved to avoid anything that was obviously trouble. When it was avoidable, of course. Because some things just weren't.

He started to go into the house so he could leave Hiccup to whichever project he was working on. He was on the steps up to the door when Hiccup spoke again, stopping him in his tracks.

"Rapunzel said you had a nightmare last night."

Hand on the doorknob, Jack stilled.

That wasn't exactly true. He hadn't had _a_nightmare.

He had had three.

Hence why he was still tired, despite the fact he had practically collapsed as soon as he had finished eating. And slept so late he was almost late for his first class. (Which his child psychology professor had not been pleased about.)

"Rapunzel worries too much," Jack reminded, not answering what hadn't actually been a question. "You know that."

Rapunzel was right on par with Valka when it came to mothering the ground. Well, Valka was the den mother. Rapunzel was the mother hen. Her worry over all of them was sweet, but seemingly endless. He and Hiccup guessed that it probably stemmed as much from her healing powers as it did from her personality.

"Sure," Hiccup agreed. "But the thing is, she's usually right." He pointed the rotator knife at Jack. "Especially when it comes to you, Mr. White Christmas."

Jack sighed. There was no response to that statement. Not one that wouldn't be incriminating, anyway.

"Come on, Jack. When are you going to trust us?"

"I do trust you." And he did.

"Just not when it counts," Hiccup countered.

It was unusually confrontational coming from Hiccup, who was the peacekeeper of the group.

"It was a bad dream," Jack said. "Yesterday was kinda traumatic, in case you forgot."

Hiccup laughed darkly. "How can I forget? Today in the lab I stumbled and got dizzy from the memory."

"And Rapunzel freaked out." It was usually safe to guess that Rapunzel was in the art lab.

"That's when Astrid chose to walk up, of course."

Jack snickered. It was almost tragic how Hiccup's luck went some times.

"I'm serious, Jack. If you're having nightmares—"

"It was just a bad dream." Or three.

And they hadn't been that bad, really. Just… disconcerting.

"That's not the pattern," Hiccup said. In his Night Fury tone, which left no room for argument.

Jack couldn't have responded, even if he wanted to. Which he didn't.

He didn't want to think about what they both knew it probably meant – but which Jack desperately hoped wasn't the case.

"I'm gonna go see if Rapunzel wants help with dinner."

"You're dodging," Hiccup said, though he didn't look up from his work.

Yes, he was. And at that moment, he didn't especially care.

The three weeks since the semester had started had been fairly quiet. There had been no sign of their usual rogues gallery. The Stabbington Brothers were in prison, and Gothel wasn't really a threat without them. Drago was probably still licking his wounds from his most recent defeat. Mor'du was nowhere to be see. The cautious hope among all of them, and probably everyone in Burgess, was that Pitch's absence meant he was gone for good.

They weren't naïve enough to believe that last one. But they let themselves hope, since there had been no sign of him all summer.

Jack hoped more than the rest of them combined.

Yesterday had been one attack by Gothel. Even on her worst day, she was more of an annoyance than a threat.

One attack, he told himself.

One attack did not mean anything.

But Jack couldn't shake the feeling that it _did_ mean something.

And somehow, the fact that Hiccup's fall had been during a fight against Gothel, of all people, felt like a sign that something bad was coming. That their quiet summer, and the near silence of the past few weeks, was over.

That everything they were used to was ending.

Jack wanted to pretend, at least for a little longer, that his bad dreams had been just that. Bad dreams as his brain tried to process the fact that his best friend had come so close to dying. It was a sound theory, and Jack resolved himself to ignore the voice in the back of his head that screamed at him that it was more. He just didn't want that to be the case.

Merida and Rapunzel were already in the kitchen, as he had guessed they would be.

Well, Rapunzel was in the kitchen, chopping up green onions. Merida sat on the other side of the bar, keeping her company. Since the only cooking she seemed capable of was grilling. (Though Jack should probably give her credit. She was pretty good at ordering take out.)

He sighed as he registered the shirt she was wearing.

"That shirt is just begging people to figure out who you are," he said, nodding to the Braveheart shield emblazoned across the front. He still couldn't believe Eret of all people encouraged her by buying her the shirts in the first place. He had thought the guy had more sense.

Merida rolled her eyes. "Please. No one pays enough attention."

There was just no reasoning with her.

"What took ya so long, anyway?" she asked.

"Unlike some people I could mention, I'm taking college courses that require time and effort," Jack said.

Merida was majoring in some branch of physical education that Jack didn't fully understand. All he knew was that she didn't seem to do much in the way homework, unlike the rest of him.

"Oy!"

Smirking, Jack turned to Rapunzel. "Can I help with anything?"

Rapunzel looked around the kitchen, at the ingredients she had already prepped. "Could you cut up the chicken that's marinating in the fridge? And preheat the oven to 450?"

Jack nodded, pulling the metal bowl out of the fridge and removing the plastic wrap off the top.

He glanced over at Merida as he started to cut the meat. "You remember that anti-super hero book I had to read last week?"

"The one by that stuck up jerk?" Merida asked. "West-somethin'-or-other?"

"Westergaard," Jack sighed. "That one. Tremaine is apparently a big fan, because she failed my essay and said I have to reread the book. On top of all my other homework. She kept me after class to explain this."

"Is she allowed to do that just because she didn't like your essay?" Rapunzel asked.

"Apparently," Jack sighed.

Their conversation for the rest of the evening was easy. No mention of Hiccup's fall, or anything to do with their costumed antics – except a brief discussion of the Westergaard book. Though none of them really _wanted_ to talk about that.

After dinner they focused on homework, and it was easy to think that all was right with the world.

A feeling that was only reinforced by the fact he slept through the night without bad dreams or nightmares. When he woke up, he told himself that he had been over dramatic in thinking that everything was about to change.

Though a part of his mind didn't let him fully believe that.


	4. Unusual Carpool

**EDIT 1/24/15 I was in such a rush when I original wrote this chapter, I didn't describe any of the sensations of being close to a Nightmare. I tried to remedy it in later chapters by having Astrid reference it in her own thoughts. But that just wasn't enough. So I'm really grateful for this chance to add it in. I know most readers might not come back to read it, but at least I know it's here now. **

**Okay, let me get this out of the way. I really did try to write a motorcycle race. But no matter how many times I tried, it didn't have the right feel, or it didn't go in the right direction. Because of my current situation in life, I cannot (and will not) allow a fanfiction to cause me so much stress. And I would much rather keep the plot moving, then stall because of one scene that (while it would have been important to Astrid's character), would not be vital to the plot.**

**With that said, however, I really do hope that you enjoy this chapter, and that you continue to enjoy the story. Besides… this is when we really start getting to the main conflict.**

**(For this chapter, I do feel the need to mention that I'm getting ready to start college for fashion design – hence why I may have gone a little overboard.)**

Chapter 4: Unusual Carpool

"Congratulations," Hiccup said, when she answered the phone Sunday night.

Astrid snickered. "Yeah. 'Cause I won by such an impressive margin."

She could hear the bitterness in her own voice as she said it – the same bitterness she had been nursing ever since the end of Saturday's race. It had not gone the way she wanted, by any means.

"So, it's not good enough that you won?" Hiccup asked.

"By two feet?" She opened the door of her fridge and pulled out a yogurt. "No."

It sounded as though Hiccup were trying to hold back a laugh.

She didn't find it funny. Not after she had to listen to a lecture from her father on what she should have done better. Karl Hofferson seemed to be incapable of _not_talking like a coach – even when he didn't have half a clue what motorcycle racing was actually like. It was one of the reasons why she had moved into her own apartment.

And the margin…She would have ground her teeth if there wasn't a spoon in the way.

Astrid did not like the threat Vanellope von Schweetz presented to her position as the school's star racer, either. She had been racing Vanellope in the local circuit for almost three years. At first, she had enjoyed the challenge.

Right up until the first time the girl beat her.

Then Vanellope had joined the college team.

"Is there a reason you called?" she asked, shaking off thoughts of the race, and the two foot margin that had given her a hollow victory.

The race had been the day before, so it was a little late for a congratulatory call. And they weren't friends, so that would have been strange anyway.

"Oh, yeah," he said, and she heard a sheepish smile in his voice. "Sorry. Do you have time for a fitting tomorrow?"

Right. The jacket.

"I have kickboxing at six," she said.

"Calhoun?" he asked.

"How did you know?" Not only did strange people know her name, but now Hiccup knew her schedule?

"I have a friend in the phys ed program," he said. "Calhoun is the only one with classes that late."

That made enough sense for her to let it go. She had never understood why Calhoun always had her classes late in the evening. Considering the woman's military bearings, it seemed more logical for them to be at six in the morning or something. But, no. They were always in the evening.

"Anyway," he went on. "Can you come by the lab about three?"

"Sure," she said, scraping yogurt from the bottom of the plastic cup with her spoon.

#

The rain started that night, sometime before she woke up. Judging from the puddle already accumulated in the parking lot outside her window, it had been going on for a few hours at least. By noon, it was still going strong, the dark clouds heavy in the atmosphere. She had hoped it would ease up a little before she had to leave, but she couldn't put off her errands any longer.

She grabbed the keys to her car as she headed out of her apartment, down the stairs to the parking lot. Since necessity demanded that she pay an exorbitant fee for a garage to house her motorcycles, she didn't pay for a parking spot under the overhang. Instead it was in one of the spots closest to her garage unit… which mean she had to run across the parking lot, through the rain.

It wasn't raining hard enough for her to be soaked by the time she got to her car – but enough that she was uncomfortably wet. Water ran from her hair, down her temples and forehead.

Why hadn't she decided to go to school in California? Or just anywhere it didn't rain so much.

After a moment of shivering and wiping water off her face, she get the key into the ignition. Her first priority was to get the heater on. She really wished she could have put off going to the grocery store until after school. But if she did, she might not be able to summon up the will to do so after Calhoun's class.

Her errands took her across town before she finally got back to put her groceries in away. She had just enough time to make a sandwich and eat is before she had to head out again.

The rain was still falling hard a few minutes before 3pm, when she got to the school. Hiccup was already waiting for her at the door, a paper bag folded under his arm.

"There's a metal working class in the lab," he said, gesturing to the closed door with his free hand. "We can use one of the empty classrooms.

The room he led her to was obviously for the fashion program – if the dozen or so sewing machines that filled most of the room were any indication. As well as the dress forms in the back corner, clustered together like a gaggle of chatting girls.

Opening the paper bag, Hiccup pulled out and unfolded a plain, dark chocolate brown jacket. Actually, it didn't even qualify as a "plain jacket". It was more like the skeleton of a jacket. The pieces of leather were held together with a basting stitch, so there was some character created by the shape of it. But it had no lining, and few of the details that had been in the sketch.

Astrid looked at the thing skeptically.

"This is just to make sure the fit is right," Hiccup said, clearly reading the doubt in her face.

Neither her feelings, nor her expression, changed.

"What? You think I'm gonna make a finished jacket just so I can take it apart if there's something wrong?" He rolled his eyes. "I have a life, you know."

"It looks like it will fall apart if I put it on," she said, still skeptical.

"Sure, if you tug at it too much," he said. "That's the point."

"If you say so." What did she know about jacket making, anyway?

She shrugged out of her old jacket, and Hiccup helped her carefully into the new one. He stepped back to survey his work, while Astrid turned to look at the floor length mirror on the wall.

"Not too shabby," he said, knuckles pressed to his chin. "A few tweaks, and we should be good. How are the sleeves?"

Astrid had been gently tugging at the cuffs, the hem, and the collar, to adjust them. "Can you bring them in just like half an inch?"

He nodded.

"And can you make it a few inches long?"

Hiccup visibly hesitated, and she realized that would mean he had to cut more leather to replace most of the jacket body. But a moment later, she almost saw his brain racing behind his green eyes.

"What if I added a waistband?" he suggested. Thumb and forefinger a few inches apart, he held them up to the bottom of the jacket.

Astrid considered the idea, trying to imagine what he was suggesting. Slowly, she nodded. "That'll work."

"Yeah, I should have thought about how you have to lean over on a bike," he said. "How's the collar?"

They spent nearly forty minutes going over the jacket, discussing small tweaks. Hiccup jotted them down quickly in his notebook. She asked for both the collar and the sleeves to be a little longer as well.

"I don't have classes tomorrow, so I can probably have it done by tomorrow," he said, as he folded the potential jacket up and returned it to the paper bag.

"I'll come by the lab Wednesday afternoon," she said, shrugging into her old jacket – for what would hopefully be one of the last times.

He nodded as they left the room. "I'll text you if something comes up, but it shouldn't."

She thought she saw a glimmer of doubt in his eyes as soon as he had said it, as though a thought had crossed his mind. But he didn't say anything else.

He waved as he headed towards the side door, while Astrid headed for the main door, which let out closest to the athletics building. As she watched him walk away, she considered asking if he had finished whatever project he had been making with that huge bolt of leather… but the question seemed strangely personal, so she decided not to.

She spent a couple hours working on homework while she waited for six, but she was still several minutes early to her class.

As she walked in, she saw Professor Calhoun (often referred to Sergeant Calhoun by some students), over by the free weights. She was in conversation with a girl whose red hair surrounded her face like an aura. Blinking, Astrid recognized the lion's mane of curls she had seen leaving the athletics building the week before. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but she passed close enough by them to hear the red head's thick, Scottish accent.

She glanced back at them as she strapped on her workout gloves.

The red head was gone by the time class started.

Kickboxing II lasted an hour and a half, and Calhoun earned her sergeant nickname. She ran the entire athletics program, but only taught a few classes, and personally coached the motorcycle team. Her workouts were intensive and exhausting. Thought that was exactly why Astrid liked it.

By the time class ended, most of the students barely had the energy to get home. But Astrid found that, somehow, she still had some to burn. Maybe because she needed an excuse not to go back to her empty apartment.

Clahoun said she had paperwork to do, so Astrid could stay and use the gym until she locked up.

Returning to the weight room, Astrid got on one of the four treadmills in back.

The lights in the weight room were all on, shining off the metal of the well maintained equipment. The air smelled like sweat and sanitizer. During the day there was always at least a couple people there. If there was a class going on, the teacher usually had some kind of motivational music going to set a fast pace. (Calhoun had banned any song from any _Rocky_ movie ever, though.)

At that moment, though, Astrid was alone.

There was something eerie about the stillness in the weight room. At first she was able to ignore it. But the sound of her own breath echoing off the white walls was starting to get to her.

No. She refused to be afraid of a brightly lit, empty room.

She increased the ramp's incline, forcing her thoughts to focus on her work out. One foot in front of the other. Rubber soles smacking the treadmill's belt. Why hadn't she brought her iPod? It was in her backpack, on the other side of the room. But she didn't want to stop running to get it.

Instead, she pushed herself harder.

Because she was sick of reliving Saturday's race. Thinking about how close she had come to losing.

Because she wasn't sure why she kept thinking about Hiccup. Strange, abstract thoughts she couldn't pin down; except that they were about him.

Because, a week later, her mind kept replaying Night Fury's fall. And she was getting really tired of it. Over and over, out of nowhere, her mind would be taken over by the image of him and the dragon careening toward the ground. Like the image had been set as the desktop background of her mind, and the moment there was space, it jumped into the forefront of her thoughts.

What was she supposed to do with that?

She still wasn't too keen on the Big Four. Which made it all the more annoying to find herself thinking about Night Fury.

Not just about the fall, either. But questions like: what happened to his left foot? Was there a reason he wore a helmet to cover his whole face, when his companions only wore domino masks? Was he just extra careful of his identity? Was his foot not the only thing he was missing? Or was it just to protect his face from the wind when he flew? And where did he hide a dragon when they weren't fighting freaks? Did he have an actual life outside of that?

She didn't like all these thoughts. Because she didn't want to know. Because she didn't want to care.

But she kind of did. She didn't know why. But she did.

The only person she knew who actually thought of them as heroes was her brother Anders – but he hadn't answered the one time she had broken down and tried to call and talk about it.

Where was he stationed right now, anyway? Was it awful that she had lost track of where her favorite brother was? Their family had never made that big a deal about closeness. She remembered the last time he had been transferred she had checked to make sure that he wasn't in an actual war zone, then promptly forgotten the country. (It had been during the peak of racing season, while she had been preparing for nationals.)

Those thoughts did not help.

She ran in the hope she would reach a point of exhaustion where she wouldn't think about any of it anymore.

And the thought of Night Fury came again. The image of him falling.

Falling.

Falling.

Falling.

Her stomach flipped.

A wave of vertigo washed over her just from the thought of it.

She felt as if she were following. Not like she had missed a step. In her mind, she felt the wind whipping her face. Gravity pulling her down, down, down…

Somewhere, in the back of her mind, she knew it wasn't real. But the sensation was so strong, her throat tightened. She gasped. Confused by the sensation of falling in her head, and her feet pounding the treadmill in reality.

Both so intense. Even though she knew – she _knew_ – which one was real. But her mind started to get confused. Until she felt as though she was being pulled between the two. Ripped in half.

Sweat ran down her back. Cold against her skin. Familiar… but strangely foreign at the same time.

Another wave of vertigo.

So strong she missed a step.

Gasping, her heart skipped a beat as she felt herself falling. For real this time. Making her wonder how she had ever thought her imagination could confuse her so badly.

It snapped her out of whatever nightmare she had fallen into.

She grabbed onto the hand grips, her feet acting on their own to reestablish their rhythm now that she was once more fully in her body. Her nose probably wouldn't enjoy a collision with the control panel.

Her heart pounded from the shock of her near fall as much as from exertion. Chest rising and falling as her lungs worked to ensure fresh oxygen was constantly supplied to the blood racing its way through the four cylinders of her heart.

Feet braced on the edges of the machine, she hit the power button.

That had been wrong, her brain told her.

She argued with herself that it had been her imagination.

Admittedly, she had never had a very active imagination. She had always been too grounded to get swept up into daydreams, or flights of fancy. So why would it suddenly be so strong that she got so confused?

Because it hadn't been her.

Astrid frowned.

If it hadn't been her own mind… what could it have been?

A drop of sweat ran down her back. And there was nothing strange about it. It was the same sensation she had experienced more times than she could possibly count.

Night Fury's fall had gotten to her. That was all.

That _had_ to be all it was.

Still, her legs shook as she gathered her things and left the weight room, and the athletics building. Into the chilled September air. Her jacket was in her gym bag, slung over her shoulder. But her skin was still so heated from her run, and blood coursing through her veins, that she barely felt the cold.

The rain had finally stopped, but the air was still heavy with moisture. Most of the clouds had cleared, unveiling the stars in the black sky overhead. A few large clouds still lingered, with a strange lighting that made them look surreal.

Her car was still in the parking lot adjacent to the arts building, so she had to walk across the lawn that stretched between the two buildings. A few lampposts illuminated the expansive space.

Not enough to fight back even a majority of the shadows.

Astrid wasn't afraid of the dark. Growing up in the woods, miles from the constant electric thrum of the city, it would be absurd to be afraid of it. Like every human being with a functioning self-preservation instinct, though, she had a healthy wariness of it.

Especially since she lived in Burgess, where anything could be lurking in the shadows.

At the moment, when she was already shaken, she really wasn't enjoying her walk across the dark, empty courtyard.

A couple times she thought she heard something – a whisper, or a rustling. Behind her, or to her right. Her head jerked towards it… only to find nothing. There wasn't even a tree on the lawn, so there were no leaves that could scrape against each other.

Part of her mind – the part that sounded like her father – chastised her for being so jumpy. For letting herself be so affected by Night Fury's fall that it was making her so jumpy.

…But her mind flashed back to earlier. Pretending she wasn't eavesdropping while Rapunzel and the brown haired boy talked. His face when she had used the word nightmares.

Astrid's stomach clenched.

Relief spread through her when she stepped onto the sidewalk, and into a pool of light.

Then she was in the parking lot.

Why were the lights spaced so far apart? You'd think a university that charged so much for tuition would be able to afford sufficient lighting for the parking lots.

Halfway to her car, she heard something she couldn't deny. A sound she couldn't identify. But one she decided then and there that she really didn't like.

Turning toward the sound, toward the edge of the next building, her stomach muscles tightened again. A small – tiny – part of her mind pointed out that the sensible thing to do would be to run to her car and beat a hasty retreat. It would not be cowardly. It would be sensible. And she agreed.

So why wasn't she moving?

Fear spread through her.

Not "I'm alone in a dark parking lot, and no one knows where I am" fear.

Unadulterated terror coursed through her system. Totally unfounded. But there. Like the nightmare from your childhood that never fully goes away, and shapes who you are. Like the unshakable conviction that there's something in your closet.

Or under your bed.

Around the far corner of the next building came a blue glow.

A blue glow she knew very well because of all the times she had watched the video of Night Fury's fall.

A moment later, a black and blue clad figure flew into view, illuminated by the glow of his own ice as he flew backwards.

Jack Frost flipped in midair, like a swimmer doing a turn under water.

Astrid couldn't shake a momentary thought of "woah", as she watched the way he moved.

Then she realized that he was fighting. And fighting hard.

Now really would be an excellent time to run… but she still wasn't running. Why, she had no idea. She only knew that she wasn't running.

Then she saw _what_ he was fighting.

At first glance, it looked like a black horse. An anemic black horse, if your first glance was good. Then the next look revealed that the horse's body wasn't quite right. Rather than flesh and blood, it was made up of black sand that streamed behind it, its back legs sometimes losing form entirely.

Astrid might not follow the Big Four's fights, but she had lived in Burgess long enough to recognize a Nightmare with only one glance. Until that moment, she had been fortunate enough never to have seen one in person.

The fear came rushing back. Crashing over her like a wave. Pulling at her like an undertow. Reaching into her mind. Searching, probing, rifling through pages of long forgotten memories. Pulling at stray threads. Searching, searching…

The searching stopped.

They had found what they wanted.

She was falling again.

Still on her feet. But falling. Tumbling. Careening. Down, down, down.

Without moving.

Frost careened into the parking lot, more Nightmares coming from around the science building. A slick of ice formed on the tarmac as he flew over it.

She was trying to tell her legs to move when he saw her and pulled to an abrupt halt.

"What are you doing here?" he almost screamed. Was that panic in his voice?

Astrid tried to respond, looking over to her car, then back to Frost.

"Oh sweet vanilla," Frost muttered. He started to say something else, but spun on his heel (still in midair) to face the Nightmares that were catching up to him.

He cut through the air with his hand, and a spray of frost mimicked the motion. Cutting through one nightmare, which dissolved. The others reared back, out of the way.

"Go!" Frost commanded, without looking back.

Astrid turned to do just that, her feet finally regaining the ability to move… only to find her way blocked by another group of Nightmares. They weren't quite between her and her car – but that was clearly where they were heading.

"Uh, Frost?"

He glanced back over his shoulder. "Great," he said sarcastically. "You must be as scared as I am."

Under normal circumstances, she would have snapped back. But her eyes were locked on the Nightmares creeping closer to her.

"Do you trust me?" Frost asked suddenly.

"What kind of question is that?"

"Do you?" he asked.

"No." Though the moment she said it, she remembered that he was the one who had saved Night Fury. Of course, Night Fury was his friend and/or teammate, while she was a stranger.

Of course, it was undeniable that they had saved a lot of strangers over the past few years…

"Least that's settled," he said, with a cocky grin.

The next moment he was in front of her, a surge of ice shooting between them and her car. It knocked the Nightmares out of the way.

Frost grabbed her wrist. "Run!"

She didn't need to be told twice. And adrenaline kept her muscles from complaining too much.

Around her wrist, Frost's hand was as cold at ice. No surprise.

The Nightmares had already begun to regroup by the time they made it to her car.

Frost shot another bolt of glowing ice while she hit the unlock button on the remote and pulled open the door.

"Uh, can I get a ride?" he asked, from behind her.

She didn't have time to think as she slid into the driver's seat.

"Get in," she said, before slamming her door shut.

He pulled open the back door and got in. "I owe you."

"That's what they all say," she muttered.

Frost climbed between the seats to sit up front while she turned the key in the ignition. The car roared to life.

She didn't bother backing out of her space. She just drove straight through the one in front of her and curved back around towards the exit.

"What are you doing here, anyway?" he asked.

"What are _you_ doing here?" she countered.

"I thought the parking lot would be empty!" he said. "It's almost nine o'clock."

"I'm a student," she said, since that should have been obvious.

He rolled his eyes. "The school closes at eight."

How did he even know that?

"Why am I giving you a ride?" she changed the subject. "Wouldn't it be faster to fly?"

"Not with them on my tail," he said, glancing through the back windshield. "Why are they here, anyway?"

"It's Burgess," she reminded.

"I know – but why are the Nightmares _here_, at the college?" he asked. "There's no one here."

She didn't bother trying to understand, let alone come up with an answer.

"Are they following us?"

"It doesn't matter," he said. "They can't get into the car." Which didn't really answer her question.

But when she glanced in her rearview mirror, she didn't see any Nightmares.

"I don't know why I even let _you_ in the car," she muttered.

Frost snickered.

He was enjoying this.

"Where am I taking you?" she asked, as they came to the edge of the campus.

He pulled a phone from somewhere in his blue and black uniform. "Forth and Traction, apparently. Why there?"

"Downtown?" she asked, assuming the question wasn't aimed at her.

"The general direction," he said.

"What's going on there?" she asked warily. She had objections to driving into some kind of war zone.

"Something bad, probably," he said. "Braveheart's not big on details."

Astrid shook her head. "I can't believe you said 'Braveheart' with a straight face."

He snickered again. "Believe me, it took a few months."

She took the right turn out of the campus harder than necessary, hoping to rattle him a little. But he seemed un-phased.

Checking in the rearview again, she let out a deep breath when she didn't see any Nightmares.

Forth and Traction was almost a forty minute drive, and she made it all of five before she asked:

"Is Night Fury okay? After the fall?" There hadn't been any sign of him (or any of the others) for the past week.

Frost chuckled, though she wasn't sure why that would be funny. "He's fine. Toothless, too."

"Toothless?"

"The dragon," Frost said, leaning back in his seat. His domino mask didn't have lenses over his eyes, so she could see that he had closed them.

"The dragon's name is Toothless?"

"I did not pick it," he said. "I haven't dared ask how old Night Fury was when he picked it."

She tightened her hands on the steering wheel kept driving towards the glow that was the never sleeping lights of Burgess City. As they got closer, she could see the silhouettes of the skyscrapers that made up the city. She kept expecting to see police cars, ambulances, or some sign of the press. But there was nothing so far.

"Shouldn't there be some sign of… something?" she asked, as they took the Traction exit off the freeway and headed into the city.

"It might not have gotten out of hand yet," Frost said, leaning forward to look out the windshield.

"Maybe it'll stay that way," she muttered.

"We can wish," he said. "Let me out here."

Astrid didn't hesitate to pull up to the sidewalk, and Frost got out.

"Thanks, Astrid," he said. "Just in case, you might wanna head home." And then he was gone, flying down an alley in search of his teammates.

She was back on the freeway before she realized that he had used her name, and she was positive she hadn't mentioned it.

The fact so many people seemed to know her name was starting to get really infuriating.


	5. Split Screen

**EDIT 1/24/16 Mostly I just fixed typos, and cleaned up some wording. **

**Okay, on with the show.**

Chapter 5: Split Screen

Astrid couldn't get home fast enough. Only once she had turned her TV on to the local news did she shed her damp jacket.

Maybe whatever happened could be contained, and it wouldn't end up on the news. Like Frost had said, they would wish. But even he hadn't seemed to think that was very likely.

Sure enough, there they were.

Or, there _she_ was. Sun Flower was the only one on the screen, along with her seventy feet of glowing blonde hair. She wore her usual violet cargo pants, and a purple shirt with her gold sun emblem on the front.

Taking a seat on the edge of the couch, Astrid watched as Sun Flower expertly handled a rope of her hair like a glowing whip. The end struck a Nightmare, which dissolved away to nothing. In the same movement, she snapped her hair back to a Nightmare that had been coming up behind her.

When Astrid had first watched the Big 4 fight – that fight against Frost three years earlier – Sun Flower had been the most hesitant. Night Fury and Braveheart hadn't known how to fight _together_, but they had an idea how to fight. But Sun Flower barely seemed to know what she was doing. Or even _why_ she was doing it.

Now, as with the others, it was a completely different story. She moved with the benefit of experience – and some kind of training. Astrid was sure of that.

She had already taken out five Nightmares by the time Braveheart appeared at her back. An ally behind her didn't seem to impede her movements at all.

Braveheart fired arrow after arrow at anything she could set her sights on. Sun Flower's hair lashed this way and that around them, the glow filling the air.

Astrid was so engrossed in watching, it took her a few minutes to realize there was no sign of Frost. The buildings in the background indicated they were in the vicinity of Fourth and Traction, near where she had dropped him off. But where was he?

Where was Night Fury, for that matter? He was the one she really wanted to see, if she was being honest.

As if in response to her question, the feed cut to a second camera. There was a second fight, a few blocks further down.

Frost ran along the edge of a warehouse roof. The way his body swayed, his powers of flight had to be the only thing keeping him up there. Fern like tendrils of white frost spread down the front of the building, marking his path.

A few steps behind him, down on the street, galloped a handful of Nightmares.

When Frost reached the end of the roof, he jumped off the warehouse. He had surpassed the Nightmares, and as he flew across the street he created a wall of ice in the crosswalk. The black creatures were forced to rear up on their hind legs and turn back.

But when they turned, Night Fury flew towards them. The dragon's wings were extended, taking up most of the street, so there was no place for them to go. His mouth was open, teeth bared. A glow started in the back of the dragon's throat, building to a plasma blast that took out all seven Nightmares.

Frost was already back on the roof, avoiding the heat of the flames, and already moving.

Astrid leaned forward, watching as the two friends/teammates moved down the street, followed by a news camera in a helicopter. She didn't even bother listening as the reporter offered a commentary on the fight.

The footage switched back and forth between the two fights, focusing on whichever the station deemed more exciting in that moment.

Braveheart and Sun Flower were no longer back to back. The archer had taken to darting around the street, grabbing up arrows to reuse. She hit her targets, Nightmares disintegrating as they were struck. But sooner or later, she would wear herself out.

Agitation built up in Astrid's bloodstream, and she started to fidget. She was tempted to get up and start pacing, but didn't want to miss anything.

This was why she hated spectator sports.

Frost and Night Fury crisscrossed the streets, taking on pockets of Nightmares. They seemed to be trying to reach the other half of their team, but more of the monsters appeared every time they got close, keeping them a couple blocks away.

They were all efficient, the creatures dissolving. But they didn't seem to be getting anywhere.

After a while, the station seemed to decide that the seemingly endless fight wasn't enough to make good television. Reducing the live footage to a cut away in one corner of the screen, they went to a panel of experts gathered in the studio. Astrid didn't know what made them experts, but they certainly used a lot of big words and convoluted sentences.

For the most part they were older, balding men, with PhDs in obscure fields. When their names flashed across the bottom of the screen, they were usually followed by a lot of letters that made no sense to her.

As far as she could tell, it was the usual talk. The Big 4 were a bad influence, who promoted mindless violence. One of the doctors was throwing around words like "megalomania", "vigilantieism", and "self-aggrandizing".

Rolling her eyes, Astrid went to the kitchen to find something to eat. Her father said pretty much all the same things about the Big 4 – except without all the SAT vocabulary words.

Her can of soup was almost done heating by the time the man stopped talking.

Astrid looked over at the TV, just in time to see the camera pan to the fourth person at the table – the only one under the age of fifty. He was maybe twenty-seven, his red hair combed back perfectly. By some standards he might have been handsome, with broad shoulders and noble features. Though his sideburns had definitely gone out of style a couple centuries ago. He wore a sleek, blue-grey suit.

Hans Westergaard, the helpful writing at the bottom of the screen told her, was the author of "Magic and Dragons: The Dangers of Vigilanteism". Astrid had never heard of it, but it sounded boring.

As soon as Westergaard started talking, she realized it probably wasn't just boring. It was probably arrogant, and self-serving, too. What was the phrase that one guy had used? Oh, yeah. Self-aggrandizing.

"With all respect, Doctor," he said, though he didn't sound very respectful. "I think you're missing the bigger picture here. For years, people have talked about the negative influence these so called 'heroes' have on our society. And, while I agree, that is a problem, I think everyone is overlooking the truly important questions."

Translation: "I'm the only person asking the right questions."

Astrid rolled her eyes.

"What are these people?" Westergaard asked. "One has seventy feet of glowing hair? One flies a dragon? These people are—"

"I'm sorry, Hans, we'll have to stop there," the news anchor interrupted, just before Astrid lost all patience. (She never had been a very patient person.) "We're receiving reports from downtown that the fight had taken a rather dramatic turn."

The on-location footage took over the screen again (_finally_, Astrid thought).

The Big 4 were all together on one street. Well, Jack Frost was on top of another warehouse, while Night Fury flew low over the street. (Astrid was still trying to come to grip with the fact that the dragon's name was _Toothless_, of all things.) The girls were the only ones actually _on_ the street.

The dramatic part was that they were caged in by Nightmares, who came at them from both ends of the block.

Astrid finally realized what felt off about the fight.

If the Nightmares were there… where was Pitch Black? She didn't know, but it seemed as though he should be there, directing his troops or something.

But there was no sign of him.

No sign of any other villain, either.

And the Nightmares were focused entirely on the Big 4, rather than searching for bystanders to torment, the way they normally did.

Again, Astrid might not know much about Big 4 fights. But none of that sounded good.

#

"You realize this is a distraction, right?" Jack asked, through the earpieces that kept them all connected.

Hiccup glanced over to where Jack was crouched on top of a warehouse, catching his breath in this moment they had to regroup. Like all of them, he was starting to show signs of fatigue.

Hiccup's hands tightened around the metal grips of the saddle. The worn leather creaked.

It was becoming painfully obvious that Jack was right. There were plenty of Nightmares to keep them busy. But that was all they were doing.

And there was the glaring absence of Pitch.

Hiccup hadn't been complaining about that. At least, not until he realized that that meant they had no clue where he was, or what he was doing.

That thought was rather terrifying.

"A distraction from what though?" Hiccup asked, bringing Toothless around for another lap over the street.

"That's what scare—" Jack stopped, no doubt eyeing the Nightmares closing in around them. Certain words were best avoided. "That's what I want to know."

Best not to think about fear in the presence of one Nightmare, let alone however many they were up against. They would grab onto any fear, and once they got a hold of a thought, it was almost impossible to shake. Hiccup could feel their presence skirting around the edges of his mind, looking for any chink in his mental defenses. Any way to send him into a downward spiral of terror and depression.

Jack knew all of that better than any of them.

And they all knew more than they wanted to.

"I don't like it," Merida said.

"Neither do I," Hiccup admitted.

He also didn't like that the Nightmares had mostly come to a stop. They seemed to be waiting to see what would happen. Which wasn't normal for Nightmares.

"Any ideas?" Jack asked.

Hiccup sighed. They needed a plan… he just didn't feel as though he had enough to formulate a plan. Fatigue wore at the edges of his mind, fraying thoughts even as he tried to form them.

"How many shots do you have left?" Jack asked.

"Two," Hiccup said. Toothless had used four of his six shots. But as tired as the dragon was getting, he might only have enough energy for one.

They neared the edge of the street again, and started to turn before the Nightmares thought they were trying to make a break for it. He went to adjust Toothless's prosthetic tail fin for the curve, with the gears attached to his own prosthetic foot.

The gears stalled.

Toothless made a sound of concern as their flight faltered.

"Not again," Hiccup said, fighting his own panic. "Hang on!"

He jerked his foot, and the gears moved the way he wanted. The fin angled properly, and they returned to their previous elevation as they finished the curve.

"The cameras are gonna love that," he muttered.

"Are you alright?" Rapunzel asked.

"Yeah." He injected more confidence into his voice than he actually felt. "Yeah. Just… mild calibration issues."

A momentary issue.

But a moment that had lasted long enough to set his heart pounding against his ribcage.

Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to act as though it had never happened. To _not_ remember his fall from a week earlier. He couldn't dwell on it. Not with nearly a hundred Nightmares on the ground.

Thankfully, Jack was good in moments like this.

"If we blast out, what happens next?" Jack asked, picking up exactly where they had left off.

"We go home and do homework?" Merida suggested. She actually sounded enthusiastic about the idea.

"What will Pitch do?" Hiccup asked.

The connection was silent, save for the static that surrounded their exhales.

Hiccup took extra care shifting the gears as they made the next turn.

No problems.

He sighed in relief.

Just like he had said. A momentary issue.

"We have to do something," Merida muttered.

"Agreed." Jack nodded.

Action was one of the few things Jack and Merida ever agreed on.

"We can't keep standing here," Rapunzel said. "I think we should blast out and see what happens."

Maybe someday they would learn how to come up with actual strategies.

"Let's do it," Hiccup said.

Merida knocked an arrow in her bow, pulling the string back. Rapunzel adjusted her grip on her hair.

The Nightmares had been surprisingly still, save for the never ceasing black streamers that bent and swirled in the breeze. A breeze that picked up as Jack prepared to dive in.

At the movement from the girls, the Nightmares began to shift as well, pawing the ground and throwing their heads back with shrill whinnies.

Rapunzel made the first move, whipping her hair through three Nightmares.

That broke the spell, and they were all moving again. Merida fired two quick shots, and Jack dived in with a spray of glowing blue ice. The three of them all took on the Nightmares coming from the north.

Hiccup and Toothless turned in midair to takes the ones from the south. Toothless breathed a plasma blast that took out a sizable number of the Nightmares. Even in the saddle, Hiccup felt the heat from the blast.

They were coming in low over the street, Hiccup trying to calculate the best angle for their last shot, when he felt the gears lock up again.

Just as something snapped. He didn't hear the snap. But he felt the sudden loss of tension between the saddle and the prosthetic fin.

Toothless howled as they fell to the street. Only a few feet this time – not even five. But they still hit the tarmac hard. Hiccup grunted from the impact, and heard Toothless make a sound of pain as they tumbled. As he rolled to a stop, his leather armor kept his skin from being scraped open. But the leather would probably never be the same. One more thing for his to do list.

His helmet stayed on, thankfully.

When he came to a stop, he looked over at Toothless, to be sure his friend was okay.

The dragon was a few feet away, just rolling up into a sitting position. He wiped a paw over his nose, then shook his head. He looked incredibly displeased.

Not that Hiccup blamed him.

A cold hand grabbed his arm, pulling at him even as it sent shivers down his spine.

"Get up," Jack said.

It was impossible to ignore Jack when he was the mature, in charge one. Hiccup didn't really feel up to standing just yet. But the next thing he knew, he was on his feet.

Jack kept a hand on his arm just long enough for Hiccup to regain his balance.

The five of them were on the street… and the Nightmares seemed to have increased in the minutes since Hiccup had fallen. The dent he had made in their numbers was now filled in.

Their plan to blast out wouldn't work so well now that he and Toothless were earthbound. Hiccup removed the handle strapped to his right thigh, adjust his grip before he flicked the release switch. The wire frame extended in three sections, igniting as soon as it came into contact with the air.

Toothless came closer to his side, growling deep in his throat.

Jack, on the other hand, edged away from the heat of the blade.

"Plan B," Merida muttered.

Right. Because they weren't practically helpless without a dragon that could actually fly. Hiccup wasn't sure that they had any advantage at that moment. Not against these numbers.

"We can still blast through," Rapunzel said. But even she sounded skeptical.

Hiccup shook his head. "Without elevation, we can't wipe them all out."

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm already worn out," Jack said. He pulled up the hood of his costume. That could only mean he was too exhausted to maintain his powers, and his hair was likely to turn back to brown at any moment.

Maybe that had been Pitch's plan: wear them down and take them out.

Hiccup was distracted from those depressing thoughts when one of the Nightmares whinnied… and they all dissolved to nothing.

Toothless jerked back onto his hind legs, sitting up as he looked around.

"That's what I wanna know," Jack said, to the dragon's nonverbal question.

"Has that ever happened?" Merida asked.

"No," Jack said.

They looked around the street, but there was no sign of the Nightmares.

The news cameras were still very much there, however.

"We need to get out of here," Hiccup said, turning back to look over the saddle.

"Can you fix it?" Rapunzel asked.

"Enough to get home," he said, pulling a length of leather cord from a pocket.

"Don't take long," Jack said grimly.

The sound of sirens, along with the flash of red and blue lights, got closer.

#

Hiccup had known for months that he needed to make a new saddle. Several times he had resolved to do so – going through his sketchbooks and ideas to create an improved design. But something always came up to demand his attention, both as Hiccup, and as Night Fury.

The week before, he had finally finished a design he was happy with, and he had even bought a bolt of leather. He had promised himself, and Toothless, that he would get it done.

But no sooner had he been about to start, than Astrid had walked in. It hadn't even crossed his mind to say "no" to her request. Not when it was _Astrid_.

He had known that putting her order first wasn't the smartest move. Now he knew exactly how unwise it had been.

Toothless currently lay curled on the carpet by the couch, no ruined longer wearing the saddle. Judging from the glares he occasionally shot in Hiccup's direction, he knew this whole ordeal could have been avoided. Rapunzel had healed his scrapes, but that didn't stop him from pouting.

"Would it help if I said I was sorry?"

All he got in response was a dragon snort. A definite "no".

"Thought not," Hiccup sighed, going back to the leather he had spread out over the workbench.

"What happened?" Valka asked, coming through the house door. She carried two steaming mugs, one of which she held out to Hiccup.

"Thanks," he said, accepting the mug. "You haven't seen the news?"

"I haven't had a chance," she said. "Though Jack is passed out in the living room."

Hiccup grinned wryly. But the expression faded.

"I got stupid," he admitted. "I didn't do what I knew I should have done." The tea was still too hot to drink, but he sniffed at it to determine the flavor. Apple cinnamon. The sweet and spicy scent made his mouth water, and he wondered how long it had been since he last ate. Too long, probably.

Valka came around the workbench, looking over the leather, and the open pages of his journal.

His mother's knowledge of dragons put him to shame, even when it came to Toothless. But she wasn't an engineer. The plan he had drawn up for the new saddle probably didn't mean much to her, except that she knew what it would become. (It probably didn't help that his short hand notes had evolved into his own kind of code.)

Toothless growled, making his displeasure known. The loose translation was probably: "Do you see what your offspring puts me through?"

Valka looked over at Toothless for a moment, before she turned back to Hiccup, clearly putting the pieces together. "That's the second time this week."

"Exactly a week," Hiccup said. It felt as though that first fall had been months ago – but sometimes it felt as if it had been just the day before.

Valka didn't speak for a minute or two, taking a careful sip of her tea as she looked over the tools on the work bench.

Hiccup braced himself for what he knew was coming.

"Have you started to get careless, Hiccup?"

Braced for the words or not, the chastisement still stung. Hiccup exhaled, looking over at the ruined saddle he had dumped into the corner.

Just a few hours ago, he would have said no. But if that was true, he wouldn't have had so many near misses lately. It was kind of obvious when he looked at it logically.

Valka wasn't the lecturing type – she was the exact opposite of his father that way – so she let him stew in those thoughts for a minute before she rested a hand on his shoulder. It took him another moment to meet the concern in her blue green eyes.

"I've never disapproved of this, Hiccup," she said. "You know I'm proud of what you've done. All of you. But you cannot afford to be careless. This city needs your team, and your team needs you." She sighed. "And I can't bear the thought of losing you."

"I'm sorry," he said, ducking his head in apology.

"Just be careful," Valka said. "That's all I ask."

"I thought I was," he said. Though hindsight made it clear just how naïve that had been. "I just got…"

He waved a hand through the air, trying to think of the right word. Because he really didn't like the first one that came to mind. Unfortunately, he had to admit that it was the truth.

"I got distracted."

He was pretty sure there were proverbs about the dangers of being distracted by a beautiful girl.

His mother hummed in a knowing way he wasn't entirely comfortable with.

"The name Astrid has been mentioned a few times of late," she said, taking a too-casual sip of her tea.

Hiccup took a drink of his own, hoping to hide what Jack called his dopey grin.

"She's the one you've had a crush on since middle school, if I remember correctly."

"More like elementary school." Embarrassing, but true.

From the corner of his eye he saw her smile, and expected some kind of teasing. But when she spoke a moment later, her tone was once more serious.

"You need rest, Hiccup," she said. "Leave this for tomorrow. Come eat, and get some sleep. Rapunzel left soup in the slow cooker."

Over in the corner, Toothless's crown twitched. He lay with his back to them (probably still pouting), but Hiccup knew the dragon was listening to every word.

Taking another sip, Hiccup looked over the workbench. Everything on it could be left out overnight, and the main door was already locked. All that was left was to turn off the light.

"You comin', Toothless?" he asked, pretending he didn't already know the answer. Toothless hated being left alone in the garage.

Toothless feigned nonchalance as he stood up, stretched, and meandered over to the door. Like a cat, trying to pretend that is hadn't been his human's idea.

Hiccup exchanged amused glances with his mother, then followed Toothless into the house. Valka kissed his temple as she said goodnight, heading down the hall to her own room, while Hiccup went into the kitchen.

The living room was dark, save for the glow of the TV. Jack was passed out on the couch, sprawled out as though he had collapsed there. Someone (Rapunzel probably), had draped one of the throw blankets over him.

In the kitchen, the stove light was on, creating a pool of illumination just large enough to show the slow cooker plugged in on the counter. Hiccup didn't know what kind of soup it was, but he didn't especially care. The aroma went straight to his head, making him realize just how hungry he was. He ladled a large bowlful, then started towards his room.

In the living room he paused, debating is he should wake Jack up, or at least turn off the news.

"I was right," Jack said suddenly, without opening his eyes.

"I hate when you do that," Hiccup said, once his heartbeat recovered from the spike of surprise.

Jack grinned darkly.

Hiccup had never figured out if Jack was just a light sleeper, if he faked sleep, or if there was some other trick. No matter how sure he was that Jack was asleep, he was usually proved wrong.

"Right about what?" he asked, finally registering what Jack had actually said.

"It was a distraction." Jack finally opened his eyes, exhaling as he sat up and ran a hand through his hair. "I literally cannot see as well with brown eyes. I hate it."

"You're probably just tired."

Jack shook his head. "I see differently. Everything is sharper when I have blue eyes. Everything is bluer, too. I never figured that out."

After a moment, he shook his head again, and took a deep breath. "Sorry. While we were downtown, Pitch broke Gothel, Drago, and the Stabbington brothers out of prison. He freed a whole cellblock, but I think it's a safe bet those are the ones he wanted."

"The people who hate us most," Hiccup said. "Of course."

Jack made a sound of agreement as he hit the power button on the remote, and the TV turned off. Standing up, he stretched his arms over his head. "They're blaming us, of course. And I'm getting' really tired of Westergaard's smug face."

Hiccup nodded, as they both started down the hallway, towards the bedrooms.

"On that happy note," Jack said, opening his door. "Good night, Hiccup."

"Good night," Hiccup said, more from habit than anything else.

Toothless was already in his corner of Hiccup's room, fast asleep.

Hiccup barely finished his soup before he joined the dragon in dreamland.


	6. Can You Keep A Secret?

**EDITED 1/31/16: I mostly just fixed the typos, and changed the wording here and there. (I got distracted by the Heather/Viggo ship on tumblr, so I didn't get as much done this weekend as I had planned…)**

**Ok, I want to explain this one thing. The address, 1012, is the years the Big 4 movies came out – 2010, and 2012. Crescent rd is just because.**

Chapter 6: Can You Keep A Secret?

Hiccup wasn't at the college on Wednesday.

Astrid went in before her 2 o'clock class, but there was no sign of him. Someone else was at the corner worktable, but she didn't look close enough to see what the guy was working on. Rapunzel hasn't been in their class that morning either, and there was no sign of her in the lab.

She shrugged it off, and decided it wasn't too big a deal. The guy probably had his own life, and they hadn't specified what time she could pick up the jacket.

She checked again, after her last class. Still no sign of him.

When the same thing happened on Thursday, she tried calling him. But the call went straight to voicemail.

Well, that was excessively annoying.

Scowling, Astrid leaned her hips back against her motorcycle, trying to figure out what to do next. She had pretty much paid for the jacket. It was possible he had just taken the money…but he didn't seem the type. Besides – it had been a measly two hundred dollars. Which was a lot, especially in the college world. But it seemed kind of ridiculous for a scam.

And he had come recommended by Gobber, for pete's sake.

Friday, she only had one class in the morning. Hiccup still didn't show up in the lab, so she decided to go back to the source.

#

Gobber's shop was a typical garage: lots of grease, tools, and spare parts. Usually very noisy, and very busy. The turnover rate was dizzying. Most people couldn't handle Gobber's standard, or his schedule. But people who managed to make it past the first six months were usually there for years.

That was why she had been so surprised when Hiccup said he had worked for Gobber.

Gobber was her father's mechanic, and they had been in every few months for maintenance on her dad's old pickup truck. Astrid had always wanted to tag along, since she had always liked the shop for some reason. When she had been thirteen, Gobber had taught her how to change the oil in a car, and to change a tire. He was also the one who had introduced to her the concept of racing, and helped her get started in the local youth circuit when she was fifteen.

She had figured that, if Gobber recommended him, Hiccup would make good. And if he said Hiccup was great with leather, that meant he knew what he was doing. Gobber wasn't the kind to give compliments lightly, or often.

The shop was busy when she got there, with four cars being worked on, and at least eight people in the waiting room.

She circumvented the waiting room, and instead walked through one of the open garage doors. She could hear Gobber yelling over the clang of tools, so she just followed that.

She found him muttering about incompetence, as he micromanaged a recent hire.

"Astrid," he called when he saw her, with the closest he managed to a smile, when she walked up beside him. "What brings you here?"

He wasn't one for small talk, which she liked.

"I was hoping you could tell me where Hiccup is," she said, hands buried in the pockets of her jacket.

Gobber looked over, quirking one side of his unibrow. "Why would you want to know that?"

"Because he vanished a few days ago," she said. "His phone is dead, and he hasn't shown up at the school. I'm waiting for my jacket."

"That's not like Hiccup," Gobber said, but then paused. "I can't – are ya tryin' to fix that engine, or sabotage it?"

The mechanic cringed.

Gobber sighed, and turned back to Astrid. "Eret's in the office – have him get ya the home number from the file. Someone usually answers if ya call in the evening. I gotta handle this before he destroys that engine."

Before she could ask anything else, Gobber was already at work on the engine, telling the kid exactly what he had done wrong. Astrid almost felt sorry for the kid. Almost.

She went through the door from the garage, into the waiting room. The smell of grease was only slightly less inside, tinged with the left over smell of a couple thousand microwave meals.

Eret was behind the counter, in the middle of writing down exactly what a customer wanted done to her car. He glanced up as she came in, and nodded a greeting before turning his attention back to the customer.

Eret had shown up out of nowhere about three years earlier. Astrid doubted he could do more than change the oil of a car, if that. But when she had asked Gobber why he suddenly hired someone to man the desk, he had said only that he was helping the young man get back on his feet as a favor to a friend. There had to be more of a story than that. Especially considering she had heard the phrase "probation officer" shot in Eret's direction more than once.

But she knew he kept his job because: 1, he rolled with Gobber's proverbial punches without a word of complaint; 2, his looks went over very well with the female clientele.

She waited for him to finish before she approached the counter.

"Astrid," he greeted. "It's been a while."

"Hey," she said. "Gobber said to ask you about the records of a former employee. I'm trying to track him down." She frowned inwardly when she realized she sounded like some kind of detective.

Before anything more could be said, the bell over the door jingled, announcing the arrival of another customer.

Eret stood up straight, turning to the man who had just come in. "Hi. How can I help you?"

As he spoke, he pulled the filing cabinet key from his pocket, and held it out to her. He nodded towards the office, in a silent "go ahead".

The nice thing about a place where everyone knew who she was.

Astrid spun the key ring around her pointer finger as she went into Gobber's office. The desk was a mess of papers and random office supplies. But she paid that no attention, and went straight for the filing cabinet.

"Bottom drawer," Eret called, just as she started to wonder.

"Thanks." She sat down in the worn office chair.

The drawer was full with past employees, and Astrid frowned as she realized that she didn't know Hiccup's last name. She really didn't feel like searching through the whole thing, but going out to ask Gobber wasn't an appealing idea.

Not when she could hear him yelling from the other side of the wall.

Letting out a breath of resignation, Astrid flicked through the folders.

Haddock, Hiccup H. III

In the back of her mind, she thought the name "Haddock" sounded familiar, but she didn't pay the thought much attention. Maybe Gobber had mentioned it at some point. But seriously – who gave their kid the same first, middle, and last initial?

Pulling the folder from the drawer, she flipped it open on her lap.

There was no application, just a bunch of W-2s for the past few years, and a few other odds and ends. The number on the most recent tax paper (from the previous year) was the same one in her phone, so she was about to go looking through the other papers for the home number… when she realized that she was looking at his address.

Well, that would save her time.

Pulling out her phone, she took a picture of the address – written in the same no-nonsense hand she recognized from the design sketches.

She closed the folder and put it away before getting up to leave.

She nodded to Eret on her way out (he was helping yet another client). A green Honda had just pulled up to the front, and Astrid glanced over at the driver got out. She recognized the redhead she had seen at the college the week before – mostly just because the lion's mane of hair was kind of distinct.

Once she reached her motorcycle, on the edge of the small parking lot, she looked at the picture she had just taken.

1012 Crescent Rd

Burgess

She had to check an online map to see where Crescent road was, but didn't bother looking up an exact route to the house. As long as she knew where the road was, she was pretty sure she could find the house without too much trouble.

#

Crescent road was a lot further out of the city than she had realized. Late afternoon traffic on the freeway certainly did not help. By the time she took the exit onto Crescent, she was starting to wonder if maybe she shouldn't have just gotten the home number…

She rode past large house on lots that provided a comfortable distance from their neighbors. And then the houses were gone, and she was riding past fields of tall grass divided by barbed wire strung from old, sagging wooden poles.

The fields gave way suddenly to a wall of trees, which formed a canopy over the road. At this point the houses were so far apart, and set back from the road, they could couldn't even be seen through the trees. There was only the mailbox at the end of the driveway to tell you that, yes, there really was a house back there somewhere.

Astrid had lived in Burgess all her life, and spent a large amount of her free time driving and riding around back roads as soon as she had gotten her license. But she had never been out this way before. It was so different from the crowded city, and yet nothing like the woods she had grown up in.

The mailboxes counted upwards, towards the thousands, so she knew she had to be getting closer. But they were getting further and further apart, so "closer" was a relative term.

Finally, she found the mailbox labeled 1012.

If the road had felt like a different world, the feeling was intensified the moment she turned up the driveway. She didn't know why, but she got the sudden impression that she had stepped into something that was nothing like anything she was used to.

The tree canopy over the road continued, sunlight filtering through the leaves above, to dapple the well paved driveway, and the temperature was dramatically cooler. Leaves that were already in the grand finale of their yearly show – most of them bright red or yellow. A few green ones remained, tucked away, while others had already turned brown. A few had fallen to the ground, littering the road. Evergreen trees would ensure that the path would maintain some green even in the deep of winter.

Astrid had grown up in a three room cabin, far outside the Burgess City limits. As the only girl, she had had her own room, while her three brothers all shared one. After driving this far out, she had half expected to find that Hiccup lived in something similar.

But when the winding drive finally ended, and the trees gave way, she found that her expectations couldn't have been further from the truth.

Astrid braked sharply, her motorcycle fishtailing as it came to a stop, and stared at the house.

Instead of some small cabin, she was looking at a sprawling, single story ranch house. It was painted light green, with white trim around the large, colonial windows. It was still more than fifty yards ahead of her, situated on a massive lot. And that was assuming that it ended at the tree line she could see beyond the house, and the two smaller structures.

Neatly trimmed bushes were nestled against the house, flowerbeds lining the walk up to the house. The lawn in front was briefly interrupted by what looked to be a garden, with several raised wooden beds, most of which were still frilly with green leaves.

Despite the size… there was something homey about the place. Maybe it was the garden, or the windows that already glowed faintly as the sun started to set.

The driveway went right up to the house, an offshoot of it leading up to the garage, which was angled away from the house. She recognized Hiccup's black truck parked outside, with a blue Subaru next to it.

Pulling up in front of the house, Astrid killed the engine and pulled off her helmet.

It was so… quiet. There were a few bird calls in the trees, but there was no sound of cars, and no buzz of life like there was constantly in the city. Astrid had almost forgotten just how quiet the country could be. And she wasn't sure how to feel about it. She knew most people found the quiet peaceful, but it was making her a little nervous. The feeling that she was trespassing grew suddenly stronger, even as she realized that coming here might not have been her brightest idea.

And then…

_CRASH!_

Astrid jolted, her heart hammering in her chest from surprise.

Leaving her motorcycle, she followed the sound toward the garage.

"—when we're the only ones actually doing anything!" she heard, as she neared the open door.

Someone responded, but they weren't yelling, so Astrid couldn't hear what it was.

The first voice had been male, but too deep, and too strong, to be Hiccup's.

"Can't they just make up their minds?" he asked. He had lowered his voice, but she had reached the corner of the garage, so she could make the words out. "In one breath the guy says we're public menaces that need to be stopped, but we still should have stopped the jailbreak that _no one knew was happening_!"

"This is nothing new." Hiccup. His voice sounded muffled, so he was probably facing away from her. "Well, the public menace stuff isn't."

There was a dull thud, which Astrid recognized from her childhood as the sound of something being kicked.

"They said nicer things about me when I worked for Pitch," the first guy said.

Astrid felt her throat tighten at the mention of Pitch, and felt a surge of wariness at the connection her mind was unwilling to make.

It couldn't be possible.

"If they'd actually known who you worked for they probably would have said worse," a warm, lilting, female voice said.

The first guy snickered. "That would probably depend."

"Our public image isn't the problem," Hiccup said. "Why would Pitch… Toothless? What's wrong, Bud?"

The next moment, Astrid found herself face to face with an ebony colored dragon. One she had become familiar with in the past week. And who had an awful lot of teeth, considering his name was Toothless. He had just come out of the garage, looking right at her with slit-pupil green eyes. A deep growl reverberated in the back of the dragon's throat.

"Toothless?" Hiccup asked, just as he came around the garage doorway. "Oh."

The dragon's long tail swayed, and she caught of flash of its one red fin.

Astrid looked between Hiccup and Toothless, seeing the way his hand rested on the dragon's side – as though it were the most natural gesture in the world. His left hand.

"What's going on?"

The two other speakers came out. Rapunzel, from the art lab… and Jack Frost. Well, he had the white hair, but he was dressed in a blue hoodie and a pair of cargo pants, rather than his uniform. She realized, a little too late, that she should have recognized his voice.

For a minute, the five of them stood there, the dragon's teeth still bared.

Astrid tried to wrap her head around the fact that she was looking at the Big 4. Well, minus Braveheart. And Sun Flower. Unless Rapunzel was Sun Flower.

She looked back at Hiccup. He was dressed as usual, in jeans and a tshirt over a turtle neck. But now, she didn't need the armor to make the connection. The dragon made it kind of obvious.

Hiccup – Night Fury – rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, this is awkward. Toothless, that's enough growling."

The dragon gave one last rumble for good measure, then sat back on his hind legs. His gaze never left her, though.

"How… how did you even find this place?" Hiccup asked,

"How did you get a dragon?" Somehow, that was the only question she was capable of forming at that moment.

"Uh…" He looked at the dragon, who looked back at him, head cocked to the side. "Would you believe me if I said he was a birthday present?"

Frost snickered.

"No!"

"I won't waste my breath then," Hiccup sighed.

Astrid stared at him.

Night Fury.

That was why he had been so amused when he asked if she wanted something like Night Fury's armor.

She looked down at his left foot, and the metal prosthetic. That was why he had stumbled of the weight of the leather.

That was why the way he had stood up from the chair seemed strange – why he put most of his weight on his right foot.

"My jacket," she said, remembering with sudden clarity why she had come all the way out there in the first place. With the sudden desire to get it, and get out. "I came for the jacket."

"You could have called."

"Your phone is dead," Frost said. "I told you yesterday." Of all of them, he was the only one who seemed totally un-phased by the situation.

Beside him, Rapunzel worried her lower lip as she looked between them all.

"So what's your real name?" Astrid asked, glaring at Frost.

"Jack," he said. "Or Jackson. But that's a mouthful."

"Jack…" Hiccup shook his head. "I'll get your jacket."

He vanished back into the garage, and Astrid was left with Jack Frost, Rapunzel, and the dragon.

"Thanks for the ride the other night," Jack said, grinning.

He was enjoying this, she realized. He somehow thought the whole thing was amusing.

"That still doesn't explain how you knew my name." Because that had been bugging her for the past four days. "And don't say you follow the local circuit."

"Well, I do," he said. "But…"

As she watched, his hair darkened. White strands turned a warm, reddish brown, deathly pale skin warmed to a fair, peachy hue. And the unnerving blue eyes she had noticed in the car turned honey brown. When the transformation finished, he gave her a two fingered salute. Astrid looked between Jack and Rapunzel, realizing he was the same one who had come in the classroom to pick up his lunch.

In a strange way, she almost felt better. Two of the four people who had known her name were actually the same person. That took the number down to… three.

She heard a door close, and the other three all looked into the garage. Where she guessed (or rather, hoped) that Hiccup had returned. All she wanted was to take her jacket and get away so she would have a chance to reassemble her thoughts.

Sure enough, Hiccup came around the doorway, carrying the paper bag.

"Look, Astrid—"

"I don't want to hear it," she said, cutting him off.

It wasn't entirely true. Her head swirled with questions that she wanted answers to, but she couldn't get them straight enough to give them voice.

She was just taking the bag when someone's phone went off.

"Not now," Hiccup muttered.

Astrid paused, though she wasn't sure why.

Jack was the one who pulled his phone from the pocket of his hoodie. His amusement was long gone as he read the screen.

"What is it?" Rapunzel asked.

"Downtown," he said, already moving for the garage as he pulled off his hoodie.

"Who?" Hiccup asked.

"Doesn't say."

Rapunzel dashed into the garage. And into the house, from the sound of her steps.

Jack glanced around the edge of the doorway, looking at Hiccup. "Are you coming? Merida's in class."

Hiccup looked at Astrid, and she saw hesitance in his expression.

For a moment, she thought he was going to say something to her to her. But then he looked away.

"Yeah, I'm coming," he said, turning into the garage. Toothless followed him with obvious excitement.

Did the dragon actually understand what was going on?

Astrid stood there for a moment, even more confused that a few minutes before.

Something in the garage rattled, and Jack said something she couldn't hear. It broke the spell, though. She turned away, and ran back to her motorcycle. Shoving the paper bag into the compartment under the seat before getting on.

She didn't bother thinking as she took off down the driveway. Instead, she forced herself to just focus on getting home. Or just anywhere that she could think.

The driveway, and the road through the trees, didn't feel nearly as long going back, and it was a relief to break through the tree line. But she didn't even make it a hundred yards before a shadow passed over her.

Breaking hard, she looked up at Toothless. His massive wings beat, and she felt the downdraft created by the movement. Jack flew over to her right.

Somehow, that was what made it hit home.

It really was them.

#

By the time she pulled into her garage, it was getting dark. Both with the setting of the sun, and the heavy clouds that said the sky was thinking about raining again.

Jack had mentioned that whatever it was happening was downtown. So she had ridden through the suburbs, rather than taking the freeway. The longer route – not that she had minded. It gave her a chance to try and clear her head. Trying to get her head around what she had just learned. Though even as she finally get home, she didn't feel as though she actually had anything figured out.

She barely remembered to get the paper bag with her jacket from the compartment under her seat before she went inside.

Her apartment was still and quiet, only a little light seeping through the sliding glass door to the left. But even turning on the light did only so much to make it more welcoming.

She kicked off her shoes, and hung her old jacket from the coat hook by the door. She tossed the new jacket, still wrapped, onto her couch before she went to take a shower.

The hot water warmed skin she hadn't realized was cold. Inhaling the steam seemed to help clear out her brain, as well. Some of her confusion eased, and she felt herself relax. She still hadn't totally sorted out her thoughts on the realization – but her brain was slightly more ordered. And she felt more capable of actually processing it all.

She changed into her pajamas, and considered cooking something for dinner… but settled on just ordering Chinese food. She wasn't up for cooking that night. Even if it did just mean dumping a can of soup in a pot for a couple minutes.

Once she had made the call, she looked around the living room of her apartment… and her eyes landed on the paper bag. It still sat on the couch, exactly where she had tossed it, the paper wrinkled from all she had put it through.

Unfolding it, she reached inside and pulled out the jacket.

The dark brown leather looked as though it had been polished since the fitting, and now it actually looked like a jacket. The decorative seams were done with black thread, and the inside was lined with dark red fabric. She ran her fingers over the tarnished brass zipper, and the designs pressed into the shoulders.

When she tried it on, it was a little stiff, but it fit perfectly. Even the waistband she had added at the fitting, which added nearly three inches to the length, looked as though it had been a part of the original design.

Well, Gobber had been right. Hiccup certainly knew what he was doing when it came to leather.

She exhaled as she set the jacket down… and did exactly what she had promised herself she wouldn't do.

The footage of Night Fury's fall was saved in her phone. Though she didn't have an explanation for why she had gone to that trouble. Though she had watched it so many times, it had been easier to have the file itself.

Everything was exactly the same.

The same images, the same camera angles, the same timing…

But everything was completely different.

Knowing the face behind the helmet made all the difference.

The video ended, but she continued to stare at the phone screen for a few breaths. Trying to process. Trying to put it all together.

Heaving a sigh of defeat, she reached for the TV remote. She had left it on the local news, so that was what came up now. There was no live footage of the Big 4, and the anchor didn't look especially somber. Instead, they were covering some local story Astrid had no interest in. But she left it on, because she didn't want to sit in silence. And because, if something had happened downtown, they would probably mention it.

There was a knock on her door, and she was grateful for the distraction of paying for her food. She settled back on the couch with her General Tsao's chicken, and the plastic fork that had come in the bag. (She didn't have the patience for the wooden chopsticks.)

The news had moved onto another story, and Astrid wasn't paying any attention to Seraphina Typhan's latest 'keep the world green' campaign, when her phone rang. She glanced at the screen, planning to ignore the call, but changed her mind as soon as she saw her brother's picture. She couldn't hit accept fast enough.

"Hey," she said, swallowing a chunk of chicken that she hadn't quite chewed thoroughly.

"Hey, Kid," Anders chuckled. "How are you?"

Anders was the eldest of the four siblings – and the only one Astrid could have an actual conversation with. Unfortunately, those conversations weren't as often as she would have liked. That was the one reason she wasn't happy with his decision to join the navy.

She tried to find the answer to that question. Thankfully, Anders was good at reading her silence.

"You okay?"

"I'm not sure," she admitted, then quickly changed the subject. "How are you?"

Anders sighed. "Tired. But that's nothing new. Sorry I couldn't get back to you. Every time I wanted to, it was 3 in the morning your time."

"It's okay."

"I don't have a lot of time," he said. "So, what's up?"

Astrid sighed as she leaned back into the couch. She had muted the TV, but she could still see Serphina Typhan talking behind the podium at her most recent press conference.

"Astrid?"

"What do you think of the Big 4?"

"The Big 4? The super hero team?"

"Them." She knew the answer – they had talked about it before. But she didn't know how else to bring up the subject.

"I think they're heroes," he said. "And they don't deserve what people like Dad say about them."

Anders and their father had had a rather loud argument on the subject the last time he had been on leave. The final brick in her resolution to move out as soon as she started college.

"Why?" she asked.

"Because they're the only ones actually doing anything," Anders said. "Burgess would have been leveled years ago if they hadn't shown up."

On the screen, they cut to footage of the Big 4. Well, Hiccup, Toothless, Jack, and Rapunzel. (That was four, she realized. So why weren't they called the Big 5?) They were fighting what appeared to be a group of super powered teens. Judging from the light in the video, it had been several hours earlier.

"I never understood why you didn't like them," Anders said.

"What do you mean?"

"I always thought you would appreciate that they were actually getting something done," he said. "And you always liked superhero comics."

Astrid frowned as she watched Rapunzel lasso a rope of her hair around a boy who had been running from her. She almost snickered when she saw the boy cry out in surprise. Even without sound, his expression was comical.

The camera switched to Jack, who was literally flying circles around two more of them. At first she couldn't figure out why – until one tried to punch Jack, but was so turned around that he hit his friend.

Anders had always been her hero growing up – even more so when he had gone into the military four years earlier. For some reason, she had never been willing to apply that title to the Big 4.

Night Fury's fall had changed her mind, even before she realized. Especially when his near death experience didn't convince him to give up the whole thing.

"What brought this on?"

How was she supposed to answer that?

"I met Night Fury," she said. That seemed safe enough. "And Jack Frost."

"Seriously?"

She laughed dryly at his excitement. "I gave Frost a ride from the college to the fight the other night."

"Why did he need a ride if he can fly?"

"He was being attacked by Nightmares," she said, though she wasn't sure how much of an explanation that was.

Ander's excitement faded immediately. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, they didn't get anywhere near me." A bit of an overstatement, but still true.

She wanted to say more – to tell him everything. From meeting Hiccup, to finding out the secret. But she couldn't bring herself to do it.

"Look, Astrid, I've gotta go." He hesitated. "Are you gonna be okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"You don't sound okay."

"I'm just tired." She was still more confused than anything. "I'll be fine."

"Okay. We'll talk soon."

"Yeah. Bye, Anders."

"Later, Kid."

He hung up, and Astrid turned her attention back to the screen.

The last punk was just trying to make a break for it. Dollar bills fluttered out of the backpack he held by one strap as he ran (with awful form) down the street. For a second, it actually looked as though he would get away.

Something zipped across the screen, and hit the backpack. The momentum sent him reeling, since he refused to let go of the backpack.

An arrow was stuck through the thick fabric, pinning it to the wall. Before he could just let go, Frost had landed in front of him. Braveheart was just walking into view. Her red curls wild around her head, a contrast to her dark blue uniform.

Yanking the arrow from the wall, Frost handed the backpack to Rapunzel. The camera followed her as she took it back to the man who stood in the doorway of a deli halfway up the street. Astrid didn't need to hear what the man was saying to know that he was thanking Rapunzel profusely.

Until now, she had never applied the title 'hero' to the Big 4… but that seemed to be exactly what they were.

Astrid sighed as she looked back down at her phone.

She picked it up, hesitating for a moment, before she pursed her lips and typed up a message.

_Can we talk?_ She sent the message to Hiccup before she could over think the simple wording.

She didn't expect an immediate answer. His phone was probably still dead. But she had just turned the TV volume back up and started to reach for her food again when her phone chimed.

_Now?_

_Tomorrow,_ she sent back.

_I'll be in the lab in the afternoon._


	7. Family Dinner

**I was going to rewrite the rough draft of this chapter last night. But I forgot, and instead I was responsible and started cleaning my room. *sigh* Oh well. On with the show.**

Chapter 7: "Family" Dinner

Astrid had never thought of herself as a hesitant person. But the next day, she found herself hesitating on the steps of the art building. Breathing deep to try and calm nerves that were once more on high alert as she considered what she was about to do. Trying to figure out how she _felt_ about what she was about to do.

She hadn't really been sure what she thought about Hiccup. And her opinion on Night Fury had been up in the air lately. Finding out they were the same person left her too confused to figure out up and down, struggling to reconcile feelings she hadn't even understood before this revelation.

It hadn't started to rain yet, but the sky overhead was once more overcast. A few breaks in the clouds suggested that the rain might not even come. Not that day, anyway. The breeze that blew through the campus was bracing, however. They might be able to avoid rain, but they wouldn't be able to avoid winter. Her new jacket warded off the cold's bite.

Finally, with a deep breath, she pulled open the door, and stepped inside.

Despite the cold outside, the temperature was a couple degrees higher than she would have called comfortable. The looks from passing art students didn't exactly help. If anything, they seemed to be getting worse each time she dared to set foot in the building.

When she got to the lab, she saw Hiccup and Rapunzel at the metal working table, under the low window directly across from the door. He had one on hand on the blowtorch, as though he had set it down to talk to Rapunzel. Their conversation seemed to be serious, but they both looked up as Astrid came over to them.

"I had an idea," Rapunzel said, sparing Astrid the trouble of figuring out the best way to greet them. She bounced on the balls of her feet, clearly excited about whatever her idea was. "Why don't you come over for dinner tonight? All of us will be home, and we can answer all your questions without…" she looked around pointedly at the other students in the lab.

A dinner invitation was not Astrid had been expecting. Not quite sure how to respond, she looked at Hiccup, trying to gauge his thoughts. Wondering if this was what they had been discussing, and if he was opposed to the idea.

His expression wasn't nearly as open as Rapunzel's. He looked a little wary, actually. But he nodded when he saw the question in her expression. "It would be easier."

She was hesitating. Again.

Much as she wanted answers, sitting down to dinner with the Big 4 was very different from just sitting down with Hiccup to talk. As he pointed out, it would be easier, and would ensure their conversation stayed private. The lab suddenly felt anything but, now that she thought about it. And there was nowhere else on campus that she could think of that would work.

So she nodded. "What time should I be there?"

#

Astrid couldn't even remember the last time she had actually gone out for something other than school, racing, or errands. Which might be why she found herself running around her apartment trying to get ready, but only having half a clue what she was doing.

Her family had never done a whole lot of socializing. They had been too busy with every possible physical sport they could sign up for. Or they just stayed at home.

Fashion was kind of beyond her, too. If it wasn't jeans and a tshirt, she was lost. Were you supposed to get dressed up if you were going over to someone's house for dinner? She settled for her nicest pair of dark wash jeans, and a silky aquamarine shirt that she had bought for a racing event, and hoped she would have an excuse to wear again. (Well, here was her excuse.) She re-braided her hair, taking more care than she usually did.

Her skills with makeup were limited to the lip glass she applied in a few quick strokes.

This time she took her car, since there was still a threat of rain. She turned the radio up before pulling out, trying to drown out some of the thoughts that continued swirling in her mind, but without enough form for her to actually put into words what they were.

The drive up Crescent Road didn't feel nearly as long as it had the day before – but maybe that was just because she was prepared for it this time.

By the time she pulled up the driveway, the sun was already starting to set. The front light was on, and the windows glowed a warm gold from the lights inside. Down towards the end of the house, what she guessed was the window of a bedroom, sheer curtains hid the interior, without totally obscuring the light. But the curtains to what looked like the kitchen and living room were open, so she could see figures moving around inside.

She was about to have dinner with the Big 4.

The thought was so strange, that for a moment all she could do was sit in her car and try to comprehend it. She wished she could have told Anders – maybe he could have helped her mentally prepare. But she probably couldn't have reached him, even she felt as though she _could _tell him.

When she was as prepared as she could reasonably expect herself to be, she shut off the engine, unbuckled her seatbelt, and got out. The air was cool, heavy with the scent of the evergreen trees that grew all around the property.

She walked up to the door, took a deep breath, and pressed the doorbell. She could hear it chime through the house, then a muffled call. A moment later she could see a silhouette through the frosted glass in the door.

The door opened from the other side, and Astrid found herself face to face with the red haired girl she had seen at the college, and at the shop the day before. The pieces clicked in her brain immediately. How had she not put it together before? The lion's mane of red-orange curls was so distinct, it should have been obvious.

"Somehow, I'm not surprised," she admitted.

Red snickered. "I'm still surprised no one's figured it out." Her accent was thick, her tone friendly. "I'm Merida DunBroch." She held out a hand, and Astrid shook it. Merida's grip was firm, fingertips and palms calloused.

Letting go, Merida stepped back and held the door open so Astrid could step into the house.

Inside, the air was warm, bright, and delicious. She couldn't tell _what_ was cooking. Only that it _was_ cooking, and it was making her mouth water.

The house had an open floor plan, with the kitchen off to her left, separated from the living room by a breakfast bar. The walls were cream colored, hung with art work and framed photos, while the carpet was off white. Though the section of floor right in front of the door was hardwood. Astrid took off her shoes, and set them next to the shoe shelf that was filled with everything from flip-flops, to sneakers, to a pair of bright purple rain boots. (Astrid felt it was a safe bet to say those were probably Rapunzel's.)

As she took off her jacket, a timer went off in the kitchen. A moment later, Rapunzel appeared through the doorway on the other side of the kitchen.

"Hi, Astrid!" she called cheerfully, waving quickly before she turned to one of the two stacked ovens.

"Hi," Astrid greeted.

Right behind Rapunzel came the black dragon. He looked at Rapunzel as she pulled what looked like a loaf of bread from the oven, and he seemed to be trying to determine if he was going to get something. The answer must have been no, because he turned his attention to Astrid, coming over to the doorway.

"What are yoo doin', Toothless?" Merida asked.

Astrid had grown up around dogs, so as the dragon came closer, she held out her hand almost on instinct. To her surprise, he sniffed at it. After a moment, he snorted and stepped back.

Merida chuckled as she scratched the dragon's jaw – the way you'd scratch a dog behind the ears. And just like a dog, the dragon's lips pulled in a smile as he tilted his head back. Actually, Astrid was almost certain she heard purring, so maybe a cat was a better comparison.

She saw the dragon's eyes snap open and shift just before they heard:

"Come on, Bud, give 'em some space."

The dragon pulled away from Merida and bounded across the large living room to Hiccup, who was just coming through the arched doorway on the other side. Astrid guessed it led to the bedrooms, and the rest of the house.

"Where've you two been?" Merida asked.

"We had an emergency meeting," said Jack, stepping around Hiccup, who was scratching the dragon as though it were second nature. Toothless certainly seemed to be enjoying it, considering the way he rubbed up against his human.

"About what?"

"Guy stuff."

Merida rolled her eyes, smacking Jack's shoulder as they passed each other in the living room. Jack shrugged it off, and continued into the kitchen. He gave Astrid a mock salute as he passed her. The redhead vanished through the archway.

Hiccup grinned, patting the dragon's neck to say he was done.

Astrid swallowed as Hiccup stood up straight, and looked over at her with a lopsided grin.

He cleaned up well.

Really well, actually.

His hair was still a casual mess, but something about his jeans, and dark green shirt, with its long sleeves, suggested that he had put some thought into his appearance. She had noticed the first day in the lab that he was easy on the eyes, but now he looked down right handsome, and a couple butterflies seemed to have gotten trapped in her stomach.

That was not something she was used to… but she found she didn't entirely mind it. Once the initial wave of horror passed.

"Hey," he said, with a small wave. His arms seemed incapable of moving independently from his shoulders, so every gesture of his hands was accompanied by a half-shrug.

She thought he might be looking her over, but decided that that must be her imagination.

One of his hands seemed to be always resting on Toothless. His left hand, she realized. Was it to help keep his balance? Or was it a habit from when he had lost his foot?

Was she allowed to add that to the list of questions that she wanted to ask tonight?

She was trying to think of something to say when the sliding door on the other side of the living room opened. A tall, lithe woman stepped inside, using her toes to pull off her boots before setting her sock clad feet on the carpet. Her eyes landed on Astrid, and she smiled.

"You must be Astrid," she said, crossing the room in long, easy strides.

Astrid nodded, noticing that she didn't feel bothered that yet another person knew her name.

"Astrid, this is my mom, Valka Haddock," Hiccup said. He grinned as though he were extremely proud of his mother, and Astrid saw the same expression in Valka's eyes when she looked at her son. "Mom, this is Astrid Hofferson."

Valka shook Astrid's hand, still smiling warmly. "I've seen you race, but I didn't know you were so beautiful."

Astrid felt her cheeks heat at the compliment. "Thank you."

Valka was roughly the same height as her son, with the same reddish brown hair, which was just starting to grey at the temples, twisted into a long rope braid down her back.

"I'm going to wash my hands for dinner," Valka said. "Make yourself at home, Astrid."

"Thank you," she repeated again, not sure what else to say.

Valka made it to the archway in the living room before she paused and glanced back. "Hiccup, there's a blue Deadly Nadder in the stables. Do you know where it came from?"

Hiccup's brow furrowed in confusion. "No. It wasn't there this morning."

Valka's mouth pursed, but after a moment she said: "I'm sure it's nothing."

Once Valka was gone, Astrid looked around the room again. Jack had gone into the kitchen, and was helping Rapunzel. She could have sworn his hair had been white when he came into the room, but it had returned to brown at some point when she wasn't looking.

"When I was a kid, this house felt huge," Hiccup said. "Now, it almost doesn't feel big enough some times."

Astrid snickered.

"Dinner will be ready in a few more minutes," Rapunzel called.

"Thanks, Punz," Hiccup called back, before looked at Astrid again. "It's better this way though." He grinned. "For the most part."

"Is your dad here?" Astrid asked, doing a mental tally in her head.

But the change in Hiccup's expression told her that maybe she should have thought more about that question before she asked it.

He shook his head. "No. My, uh, my dad died a couple years ago. In the battle with Drago Blüdvist."

"I'm sorry," Astrid said.

He shrugged one shoulder. "You don't get over something like that, you just get used to it."

Astrid wondered if the same could be said of his foot.

They both looked over at a clattering from the kitchen, and saw Jack and Rapunzel both carrying dishes from the table. Jack had one in each hand, and one on his left forearm like a waiter. Rapunzel did the same, with a fourth on her head. As soon as they reached the table, in front of the kitchen, Jack set down the one in his right hand and took the one off her head.

"Astrid, would you like something to drink besides water?" Rapunzel asked. "I bought some sparkling apple cider, but we have some other juices."

"No soda," Jack said, setting his last plate down. "Valka says they're bad for us."

"They are," Rapunzel said.

"Sparkling cider is fine," Astrid said.

"We don't have guests very often, so Rapunzel is making a production," Hiccup said. "She's kind of a zealous hostess."

"I heard that," Rapunzel said, as she walked back to the kitchen. Jack followed her like a puppy.

"I mean it in the best way," Hiccup said.

"Uh-huh. Jack, will you go get Valka and Merida?"

Jack gave another salute, to Rapunzel this time. He turned on the ball of one foot, leaning backwards until Astrid thought he would fall over. At the last moment his balance shifted, and he was walking easily across the living room.

It was a Jack Frost move, and it explained how he could seemed to move one way, but then show up where you least expected him.

"Parkour," Hiccup said. "Jack's a hopeless show off."

"I heard that," Jack called.

Hiccup grinned.

If Astrid could move so easily, with that much grace, she might be a show off as well.

"How did all of this happen?" Astrid asked, looking around the room yet again as she followed Hiccup over to the table.

Hanging on one wall, above the table, was a tapestry of a complex Celtic knot.

Hiccup pulled a chair out, holding it for her as she took a seat.

"Wait 'til everyone's here," he said. "It'll make more sense.

Rapunzel came out with stemmed glasses that had already been filled. Four were sparkling cider, one was water, and the sixth looked like a dark berry juice. Jack returned with Valka and Merida as she was setting the glasses at the table.

The bowl in front of Astrid was filled with a thick, golden yellow soup, with rice, chicken, and bright orange carrots. The aroma was rich and heady, causing Astrid to realize just how hungry she was.

She saw Rapunzel rest a hand lightly and easily on Jack's forearm. "Will you get the butter? It's on the counter."

"Sure." A moment later he was back with a bowl of what looked like softened butter, mixed with herbs, just as they all finished taking their seats at the table.

Toothless was a few feet away, over in the living room. He lay on the floor, but his eyes were on the table, waiting to see if he was needed, or if someone would offer him food.

Valka sat at the head of the table, Astrid on her left, Hiccup on her right. Jack was on Astrid's other side, while Rapunzel sat Between Hiccup and Merida. For a minute or so there was the buzz of everyone talking over each other, asking for this or that to be passed. Rapunzel cut the still steaming bread, giving a thick slice to each person.

It had all the comfortable ease of habit, without all the shoving Astrid had been used to at home.

"Do you have siblings, Astrid?" Valka asked, when the talk had mostly subsided.

"Three brothers," she said. "Two older, one younger."

"I had two brothers growing up," Valka said. "Never a quiet meal."

Astrid nodded.

"Thankfully, Hiccup and Jack aren't rowdy type," Valka added, looking at the boys pointedly.

"No, Merida's the rowdy one," Jack said, smirking.

"Oh, shut it, Frostbite." Merida looked over at Astrid. "Isn't one of your brothers a prize fighter?"

Astrid nodded. "Lars. They call him the Viking."

Merida rolled her eyes. "Aye. I've seen him fight."

Once they all had a slice of bread with herb butter, which tasted like garlic and rosemary, the table calmed down.

"What exactly am I eatin'?" Merida asked, now that they were all served.

"Lemon chicken soup," Rapunzel said. "It's a Greek recipe I found online. We had it last spring, but I think you were in Scotland."

Astrid dunked the crust of her bread into the soup and took a careful bite of the hot food. The rich, golden flavors of lemon and chicken washed over her tongue, warm and delicious. She could feel it travel all the way down her throat, and into her stomach.

She leaned back in her chair, sighing as she savored the taste. After almost two years of living on her own – between frozen dinners, take out, and her own attempts at cooking – Astrid couldn't remember the last time anything had tasted so good.

She had wanted to start getting answers to all her questions, but she ended up taking several bites before the thought even came up in her mind. Only when she looked around the table did it hit her again just who she was eating dinner with.

"So, how did all of this start?" she asked, looking between Jack, Hiccup, Merida and Rapunzel.

Valka was the one who spoke. "Actually, it started with me."


	8. This Is Our Story

**EDIT 2/7/16 Mostly just typos. **

**I think it's time to answer some of your questions! (Since you're all amazing. XD)**

**Scenes like this, where characters share back story through dialogue, are extremely difficult. I hope I did alright. (Also, it was a chance to let my love for Stalka shine, even if just a little.) With Jack as the peanut gallery.**

_Chapter 8: This is Our Story_

"At least, if you want to know how dragons come into the story," Valka added, before taking another spoonful of her soup.

"That was one of my questions," Astrid nodded.

Valka nodded, settling in to tell her part of the story. "My family comes from an island called Berk, in an archipelago north of Iceland. It was home to a number of Viking tribes, before the area became civilized. According to our history, the islands were once abundant with dragon life. But they've begun disappearing into the sea. There are some left, obviously. And my family has watched over them for generations. That's where I grew up, surrounded by more dragons than people."

Astrid could picture Valka as a young girl, running across a windswept island filled with dragons. The woman had the build of someone who had spent her childhood tumbling around outdoors, and had never really stopped.

Though, if Astrid's family meals had been chaotic with three brothers, she couldn't imagine what they must have been like with two brothers and a bunch of dragons.

"I came to the U.S. for college when I was eighteen," Valka went on, "and I had every intention of returning home afterwards. It was what I thought I wanted. But my plans changed." She looked at Hiccup, whose cheeks turned pink from the sudden attention. But Astrid thought she caught sight of a small grin as he looked down into his bowl.

Valka smiled as she looked back at Astrid. "My first year of college, I met Stoick Haddock, the man who became my husband."

Astrid was not the most empathetic person in the world, by any means. But even she could tell that Valka's smile meant she had been completely and truly in love with her husband. Maybe even still was. And she looked at her son as the product of what she and Stoick had had.

"Stoick was several years older, working his way up the ranks as a prizefighter. Not his most endearing quality at first, I confess."

"Wait." Astrid held up a hand. "Stoick, as in Stoick the Vast? _That_ Stoick?"

"That Stoick," Hiccup said, taking a drink of his sparkling cider.

Astrid leaned back in her chair. "I grew up watching him fight. He's the whole reason my brother got into prize fighting."

Well, that and the fact that Lars just really liked hitting things, and he'd been just smart enough to figure that he might as well get paid for it.

"He and many others," Valka said wryly. "My husband became a legend in his own right."

Astrid looked at Hiccup, trying to connect the gangly twenty-something in front of her with the burly prize fighter whose pictures had been pinned to her brother's wall.

She couldn't see it.

"This ranch has been in the Haddock family for generations, but as a wedding present Stoick had the house and the stables redone so I could bring my dragon, Cloud Jumper, here from Berk. When a child is born in my family, they're given a dragon to be their lifetime companion. The hardest part about college had been being away from Cloud Jumper. And I had thought that agreeing to marry Stoick meant giving him up for good.

"When Hiccup was born a few years later, I took him to Berk as soon as I could fly again. And when we went into the dragon nursery, the first dragon that came over was a newly hatched Night Fury – one of the last of his kind."

Toothless has been lying obediently in the living room, but he sat up as Valka spoke. There was no doubt that he knew she was talking about him.

Astrid looked from the dragon, back to Hiccup, remembering what he had said the day before.

"So he really was a birthday present."

"In the simplest terms, yeah," Hiccup grinned, looking over at the dragon.

Toothless cocked his head to the side.

"I don't think they've been apart more than a day since then," Valka said. "Well, aside from when Hiccup was in the hospital, after he lost his foot."

Toothless came over, since no one had said he couldn't, and came to sit behind Hiccup.

"It's weird," Rapunzel said. "When they're here, they're almost never apart. So when I see Hiccup at school, I keep expecting Toothless to come bounding up."

"That explains the dragon thing," Astrid said. "But it doesn't explain the superhero thing."

All eyes went to Hiccup.

"This one's yours, Fearless Leader," Jack said, taking a drink of his sparkling cider.

"My mom already kind of touched on it," Hiccup said. "It started when I lost my foot."

Jack shook his head. "Uh-uh. That's where you started when you told me the story, and it took months for me to makes sense of it. You need to go further back."

The two boys seemed to have a silent conversation when Hiccup looked over at Jack, as though he had planned what he was going to say, but now that plan had to change. But after a moment, he looked down into his half empty bowl, face pensive.

"I'm trying to say this in a way that makes sense," Hiccup said. "I've thought about it a lot, but I've never had to put it into words."

There was a moment of silence, and Astrid waited as patiently as she could for him to gather his thoughts.

Finally, he took a deep breath, and looked up at her. "Mom goes back and forth between here and Berk a lot. Growing up, I went with her about half the time. But Dad… we were so different, he didn't always know what to do with me when I stayed here." He grinned dryly. "Mostly because I didn't know what to do with myself. I knew I wanted to do _something_, but whenever I tried I usually made a mess of everything."

"Personally, I think we're all just crazy," Jack interjected.

"And you're the craziest of all," Hiccup countered, not even glancing over. They both grinned, as though it were an old joke. "When I was fifteen, Drago Blüdvist attacked Berk. He's been trying to take it over for years, but that was the first time I was there when it happened."

"I always wondered where he came from," Astrid said. "It seemed like he had some kind of vendetta against you guys, but there was no explanation why." She did not mentioned that her "always" was actually just since the night before, when she had done some internet research into all the fights she had ignored for the past three years.

Only after he said it did Astrid remember what he had said earlier – that his father had been killed in one of Drago's last attacks on the city. She hadn't seen any of the footage of that fight – but she had seen the after math of it. And it had been impossible to miss the news that Stoick the Vast had died while defending a group of civilians against one of the dragons Drago had brought into the city.

"Yeah, it's a family thing," Hiccup sighed. "Each of us has a personal villain – Drago's mine. That one's pretty much fate.

"But that was my first fight. We didn't exactly do well. I lost my left foot, and Toothless lost his tailfin." He rested a hand on Toothless' side. "But we still won. And as we recovered, I realized I had really liked doing something good. I should probably admit that there was a stack of comic books next to my bed at the hospital. So when I started trying to come up with a way to help Toothless fly again, saddle designs turned into an alter ego. I didn't really think about doing anything with it at first, but the idea stuck. Toothless is a Night Fury, so that's where I got the name.

"It didn't help that I'd had a lot of time to watch the Guardians on TV," he said. "That was about the time they started getting a lot of press coverage.

"Anyway, on one of my test flights, while I learned how to control the prosthetics, I – well, there were a lot of crash landings," he admitted sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "But one in particular. We crashed in the garden of a house I had been flying over for as long as I can remember, a few miles further up the road."

"Right into my tomato patch," Rapunzel said ruefully. Apparently she had never fully gotten over the loss of said tomatoes. "And the pumpkins."

"We pretty much destroyed everything," Hiccup admitted, laughing lightly. "I like tomatoes, but not being covered in them. We got tangled up in the string fence around the garden, which we'd knocked over. I had my pocket knife, and was trying to cut us out, but Toothless wouldn't stop thrashing around. I had fallen out of the saddle, but was still tethered to it. So when he stood up on his hind legs, it pulled me off my feet. He starts pawing at the strings to try and get them off, but he's just pulling them tighter. Admittedly, calling him a 'useless reptile' did not help the situation."

Toothless snorted.

Hiccup grinned before he went on. "That's when we hear:"

"'Are you okay?'" Rapunzel asked, when Hiccup gestured to her.

"I should mentioned that she was pointing a cast iron pan at me," Hiccup said.

Rapunzel giggled sheepishly. "I had a very sheltered upbringing. I had never been off the property, and for most of my life I was all right with that." Her expression sobered. "Hiccup mentioned that we each have a personal villain, and Gothel is mine. She raised me, claiming to be my mother, and telling me that the outside world was a terrible place."

"She was kinda right," Jack said.

Astrid snickered, because Jack was "kinda right".

"But it's also amazing!" Rapunzel said, childlike excitement filling her voice and expression. "It's vibrant, and exciting, and _life_ is better than I ever could have imagined. And I imagined a _lot_. When Hiccup crashed into my garden, I had finally reached a point where I wanted to get out, and I was ready to leave. Well, almost ready."

"I offered to fix her fence, since I had cut it to pieces," Hiccup said. "There wasn't much we could have done about the garden that late in the season. We started talking, and the more she told me about Gothel, I knew I couldn't leave her there. I didn't know if they were related or not, but it obviously wasn't healthy."

"I came home from Berk one day," Valka said, "and I wasn't even off Cloud Jumper before Hiccup starts telling me how he wants to bring this girl to live with us. It took a while, but once he explained the situation, Stoick and I agreed."

"I left on my 18th birthday," Rapunzel said.

Merida spoke for the first time, looking up from the food she had seemed focused on. "Did Gothel ever even realize the garden was ruined?"

Rapunzel shook her head. "No. I'm not sure she even realized there _was_ a garden. If it's not her reflection, she doesn't pay much attention to it."

"That's the most unforgiving thing I've ever heard you say," Hiccup said, glancing over at Rapunzel for a moment before he looked back at Astrid. "I'm still not sure how Gothel ended up getting into bank robbery. We haven't exactly asked her for her side of the story."

"I still can't figure that out," Rapunzel admitted. "We waited until my birthday so that Gothel couldn't legally drag me back. Of course, when we did a records search, we found out that I'm not her daughter anyways, so there's nothing she could have done."

"I was already homeschooling Hiccup," Valka said. "Suddenly I had two students. Admittedly, she was the better student. Hiccup was a little too busy flying around to focus on his studies."

"I was distracted," Hiccup admitted. "I was…sixteen by that point. Yeah, 'cause Merida is year older than I am. And I had started flying over the city, looking for ways I could help. That's how I met Merida."

All eyes went to Merida, he had just taken a bite of soup soaked bread crust in her mouth. She swallowed quickly. "My turn?"

Rapunzel and Hiccup both nodded.

"Oh." She took another bite, wiping away the bit that dribbled down her chin with the back of her wrist. "My family had come from Scotland because of my dad's work. I was goin' to a private high school downtown, and I wasn't makin' friends. And if you say 'wonder why' Frostbite, I will smack you."

Jack was taking a drink, and Astrid suspected from his grin that that was exactly what he had been about to say. But he remained silent.

Merida waited a moment to be sure there would be no retort, then went on. "I musta watched one too many superhero movies, 'cause one night I just took my bow and started patrolin' the streets."

"I was at the train yards one night when I overheard a rumor about a vigilante archer," Hiccup said. "So I went looking for her."

"He found me, alright," Merida said. "On the roof of an apartment building in the slums. I had just broken up a drug deal, and was about to head home when there's this rush of wind behind me. I was already scared of bein' caught, then I turn around and there's a _dragon_ five feet behind me. I may have tried to shoot him."

"It's the only time I've ever seen Merida miss," Hiccup said. "Thankfully."

Astrid wasn't sure which part of that had Merida looking so self-satisfied.

"At some point in the conversation Merida asked if I was inviting her to join my team. Initially I said no, but the idea stuck. Especially since I already had Rapunzel here, who was getting really good at throwing her hair around."

"Hiccup and I exchanged numbers, and a few days later I got a text askin' if I wanted to join the team. I came here the next day, and the three of us, plus Toothless, became the Big 4."

"I never liked the name," Rapunzel said. "I always considered Stoick, and Valka, and even Cloud Jumper, as part of the team. Even if they didn't fight with us, we've always been dependent on their help."

"I agreed," Hiccup said. "And we pretty much scrapped the name. But we couldn't think of anything else. When the reporter asked what we called ourselves a few weeks later, it came out. We hoped when Jack joined that the media would come up with something better, but they're still using it. Speaking of." He looked over at Jack. "Your turn."

"I worked for Pitch Black, changed my mind, joined the Big 4."

"I'm gonna hurt ya," Merida muttered.

"It's not something I like talking about," Jack said, looking over at Astrid, who sat beside him. "Let's say I have a tragic back story, and leave it at that."

Astrid couldn't deny that she was curious, but could respect that he didn't want to spell it out. Most of her questions had always been answered anyway. Still, she had to ask.

"Did you work for Pitch Black willingly?"

Jack took a deep breath, and she found herself appreciating that he was obviously thinking about his answer.

"I want to say no," he said. "But I can't. He got me when I was young and angry, and I fell for everything he said about being special, and him being the only person who could understand. Even before he got his powers, he was always good at manipulating people's weaknesses."

"So what made you change your mind?"

Jack looked across the table to Rapunzel, and there was a moment of strange silence. The answer was common knowledge to everyone at the table, except Astrid – but none of them was willing to say it. Still, Jack and Rapunzel held each other's gaze long enough, their silent conversation unbearably loud, that Astrid could get the impression what no one was saying.

She decided to leave it at that. He had said enough for her to get the gist, at least.

"So, you all live here?" she asked, breaking the awkward silence that she had accidentally created.

"My family went back to Scotland a couple years ago," Merida said. "I'm here on a student's Visa."

"I don't have anywhere else to go," Rapunzel said.

Astrid looked at Jack. "I'm guessing you're just a freeloader."

"Yup." But his smirk lasted only a moment. "Nah. Pitch got to me because I believed I was alone. All I wanted was a family, and I finally have that."

"When Stoick and I married, we both wanted a large family," Valka said. "But there were complications in my pregnancy with Hiccup, and I wasn't able to have any more children. So, when he started bringing home strays—" she shot a pointed glance at Jack, who grinned at what was obviously an inside joke "—we didn't really mind taking them in. It wasn't what we had planned, but in a way, it was still what we had wanted."

Astrid looked around the table. It was nothing like her own family – though that certainly wasn't a bad thing. The fact they weren't related clearly didn't seem to bother any of them.

"I told you we're all crazy," Jack said.

Astrid snickered, and looked over at Hiccup, who was grinning at the comment. Their gazes met, and Astrid felt her smile grow, a warmth spreading through her chest as his smile did the same.

She decided that she liked his lopsided, imperfect smile, which was a little self-conscious. Just like almost everything he did. He obviously didn't realize how attractive he was, and it made him that much more appealing.

Actually, Astrid realized: she liked _him_.

She liked him a lot.


	9. Romantic Flight

**EDIT 2/28/16 No more internet at home hopefully means I will get these edits (and future chapters) done without too much time wasted… Just changed some typos, and cleaned up some wording. **

_Chapter 9: First Date Activities_

As soon as they finished eating Rapunzel was up, clearing away the dishes. Jack a moment behind, and within minutes they had settled into an obviously familiar routine as he washed the dishes and she dried them.

Hiccup met Astrid's gaze across the table, just as she started to wonder what she was supposed to do now.

"Do you want to see the stables?" he asked.

"Sure."

They got their jackets and boots from by the front door.

"I forgot to ask how you like the jacket," Hiccup said, as she shrugged into it.

Astrid pulled her hair from the collar and tugged the jacket into place. "It's a little stiff, but otherwise it's great."

"The leather will relax over time," he said, leading her over to the sliding door, which opened out onto the backyard. About a hundred yards away she could see the second building that she had noticed the day before.

Toothless bounded out ahead of them, practically jumping up and down in excitement.

"I also waterproofed it," Hiccup said, nodding to the jacket. "So it should be good through the winter."

That was something she had wondered about that morning. She was glad to know she was saved the time.

"You're really a full service operation."

"Hey, I'm a small business," he said with a shrug. "Gotta keep my customers happy. One bad review and I'm done for."

Astrid smirked, burying her hands in the pockets, which were lined with some kind of soft, warm fabric. They walked briskly across the lawn, but not fast enough for Toothless. He kept running impatient circles into the shadows, then back to see what was taking them so long.

A thought crossed her mind, and Astrid was about to ask what they were going to do about Pitch's jailbreak the week before… but the thought vanished when the doors of the stables slid open, and warm light flooded onto the grass.

Whatever Astrid had expected when they used the word "stables", this wasn't it. She stepped over the threshold, into a warm, brightly lit space made mostly of stone, and wood that looked fairly new. Instead of one or two dragons, she counted at least ten.

Most of them were smaller, with maybe a three foot wingspan, perched on the various beams and shelves. They regarded her curiously, heads cocked to the side. The ones that weren't fixed on the food troughs, at least. The air smelled like smoke, fish, and a musky odor she couldn't place.

Her eyes were wide as she looked around at the other dragons. Three or four were roughly the same size as Toothless – if not larger.

The largest was grey and red, with a crown that gave him a decidedly owlish look. He sat in one of the open stalls, looking down at the others with obvious derision.

"That," Hiccup said, following her gaze, "is Cloud Jumper. He knows he's in charge, and makes sure everyone else does too."

Cloud Jumper regarded Hiccup coolly.

Astrid was staring at the massive dragon, when movement to her left made her look over. A blue dragon was coming up to her, leaning its head down to examine her carefully. Her muscles stiffened in surprise as the dragon tilted its head to peer at her with one yellow, slit pupil eyes.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot about you," Hiccup said, coming over. He rested a hand lightly and easily on the dragon's neck.

It blinked, before looking over at Hiccup.

Only once the eye contact was broken did Astrid dare to look the dragon over. It had a bird like structure, blue scales decorated with red and yellow. A crown of yellow spikes radiated back from its head, while more lay flat along its tale.

Hiccup started scratching just at the base of the dragon's jaw, and it tilted its head back in obvious pleasure.

"Where did you come from, girl?" he asked, looking the dragon over.

The dragon make a clicking sound in the back of its throat.

Hiccup looked over at Astrid. "We bring the ones who have the hardest time surviving in the wild – or who just prefer my mom over her brother. They don't usually show up out of nowhere."

The dragon looked insufferably pleased… and she turned her gaze back on Astrid. Who swallowed nervously. A contrast to Hiccup, who seemed totally relaxed as he talked to the dragon.

"What are you doing here, huh?

"There's legends that the dragons used to be able to talk," he said, after a moment. "I don't know if it's true, but it would make my job a whole lot easier."

Cloud Jumper stood up, and Hiccup and Astrid both looked over towards the door in response as Valka came into the stables.

"Have you ever seen her before?" she asked, nodding to the Deadly Nadder.

Hiccup shook his head.

The dragon pranced away from Hiccup on its two legs, and came back over to Astrid.

"She seems to like you," Hiccup said.

Astrid wasn't sure if she should be flattered or nervous.

Valka chuckled. "Hiccup, I'm leaving for Berk now. Will you be all right?"

She clambered up the dragon's leg with the ease of practice, until she stood on the dragon's back.

"We'll be fine," he nodded. "Have a good trip."

"It was a pleasure to meet you Astrid," Valka said, and Astrid had to tear her gaze away from the Nadder to look over.

"You, too," she said.

"You're welcome to come back any time," she said.

"Thank you."

Cloud Jumper trotted out the door, and Astrid's jaw went slack as the dragon extended its four massive wings into a giant X. They took off with a single jump, leaving Astrid's line of vision.

She turned to Hiccup, too awestruck to speak.

"Yeah. A prize fighter father, and a mother like that," Hiccup said. "I wasn't under _any_ pressure growing up."

Toothless seemed to have decided that there had been enough conversation, and head-butted Hiccup's shoulder.

"Oh, is it flying time, Mr. Bossy?" Hiccup asked, turning to the dragon. "Can't you see we still have company?"

The dragon just bumped his head into Hiccup's chest.

Scratching the dragon's jaw, Hiccup looked over at Astrid. He looked suddenly sheepish.

"I dunno. You – uh – wanna come?"

"What, flying?" She hoped her voice hadn't squeaked when she said "flying".

"Sure."

Astrid may have taken a step back. "N-no thanks. You can go, I'll…"

Hiccup cocked his head to the side as he looked at her. And she suddenly realized just how much time he had spent with his dragon companion, because the movement was almost exactly the same as Toothless's. Then, after a moment, she saw the corner of his mouth pull in a grin. "You're not afraid, are you?"

"Afraid of what?" she asked defensively, crossing her arms over her chest. "Flying?"

"Or heights," he said, even as he climbed up onto Toothless's back with an effortless grace. Like some of the other motorcycle racers she had seen, but more impressive because he was mounting a living, fire-breathing dragon.

Astrid couldn't say "no" to that – she didn't like lying. So she didn't respond.

Toothless walked right up to her, Hiccup on his back, and nudged her crossed arms.

Astrid hesitated, arms loosening as she looked at the dragon's large green eyes. His lips were pulled back in what looked like the dragon equivalent of a smile. And that let her notice something.

"Wait, doesn't he have teeth?" she asked, looking at his gummy smile.

"Retractable," Hiccup said. "Come on – one ride. You haven't lived until you've ridden a dragon."

Was it just Astrid, or was Toothless's smile…reassuring? She was so focused on the dragon that she wasn't looking at Hiccup.

"It's safe, I promise," he said.

Now her eyes flicked to him. "I'm sorry, how many times have you fallen off in the past two weeks?"

"That was my fault," he said.

She still hesitated.

"You're the star athlete at the college with the most extreme sports department in the country," Hiccup reminded. "I've seen the way you ride."

"That's different."

"How is that different?"

"I'm not doing stunts two hundred and seventeen feet in the air!"

Hiccup chuckled. "No stunts, then."

She found she wanted to. How often did someone get to ride on a dragon? And sitting on Toothless's back didn't seem especially dangerous. It's not like she would be standing on the edge of a cliff or something.

"One ride," Hiccup repeated. "It's that, or you can go back into the living room and watch Jack and Rapunzel try to pretend they're not making eyes at each other."

The corner of Astrid's mouth twitched in a grin. Well, if those were her options…

Taking a deep breath, she stepped around to the dragon's side. Hiccup offered her his hand, which she accepted as she climbed up behind him. The saddle was made to accommodate two (she had seen footage of him flying with Merida and Rapunzel at different times), so it wasn't hard to settle in. Beneath her, she could feel the subtle rise and fall of the dragon's ribcage as he breathed. In front of her, she could feel the same from Hiccup, though his breaths were smaller.

"You ready?" Hiccup asked.

"No," she said flatly.

He gave a breathy laugh. "Hang on."

"To what?"

"Uh…me, I guess."

Before she could respond to that, Toothless grew tired of waiting and bounded forward. Behind her she both heard and felt Toothless spread his leathery wings. She threw her arms around Hiccup's waist without a second thought, burying her face in his back and trying not to scream.

She knew the moment they left the ground from the way her stomach plunge downward as they pushed away from gravity. Oh stars. _Why was she doing this?_ Wind rushed in her ears. Her arms squeezed tighter, clinging for dear life. She felt Hiccup's ribs vibrate as he laughed under his breath. She would have hit him…but that would have required letting go of him. And that did not sound appealing in the least.

They rose higher and higher, the cold air nipping at her cheeks, and all she could see in her mind's eye was the video footage of Hiccup's fall. If they fell, there would be no helpful ice ramp to catch them. And she was pretty sure they were a lot higher than two hundred feet now. Not that she dared lift her face from Hiccup's back to see. How high were they going?

After what felt like forever, their flight leveled out, and a bizarre sense of weightlessness settled over Astrid, now that her stomach had eased back into its rightful place. Carefully, loosening her hold on Hiccup, she lifted her head from his back, and dared to look around.

Stars.

More stars than she had ever seen, in a never ending black sky. They sparkled cheerfully in the cold air, as if welcoming her to this strange new world she found herself in.

She risked looking, not quite _down_, but to her right, and slightly downward. She didn't quite believe what she saw, so she looked a little less right, and a little more down.

Below them a sea of swirling silver blue clouds stretched as she could see.

"This is amazing," she admitted, tilting her head back to look at the sky full of stars.

"Told ya," Hiccup said.

He shifted his prosthetic foot and they banked in a wide, shallow arc through the sky. The tip of Toothless's left wing dipped into the cloud sea. They glided for a while, not speaking as Astrid tried to take it all in.

"Look down," Hiccup said after a couple minutes, his voice soft in the quiet.

Astrid looked down. Vertigo started to rush in on her, but she pushed it back when she saw what lay below them. Through a break in the clouds she could see a wide clearing among the trees, and two buildings. Light flooded from one opening in the smaller one, while the larger one sat in a pool of light from all the windows.

"Is that your house?" she asked.

He nodded. "Do you want to go in, or keep going?"

"Keep going," she said.

She just saw the corner of his mouth pull in a grin. "There's something I want to show you."

They banked again, this time to the right. They no longer glided, Toothless's powerful wings pumping with purpose.

"So, how many other people know about this?" she asked, her grip on Hiccup tightening a little. "About you guys being the Big 4."

"Gobber," Hiccup said. "I needed his help a lot when we got started, so I had to tell him. And Eret, since he was working for Drago when we first met him."

"He worked for _Drago_?" She had known Eret for almost three years, since he had started working for Gobber. The thought of him working for someone like Drago Blüdvist had never occurred to her. Sure, there had been those jokes about a probation officer… but still.

"How do you think he handles working for Gobber?" Hiccup chuckled. "He says that, after Drago, Gobber is a breeze. And it worked out, since that's when I had to quit working at the shop on a regular basis."

"How did I never see you there?" she asked. "I've been in and out of that shop as long as I can remember."

"As long as I can remember, too," Hiccup said. "We met once when we were kids, but you might not remember. But when I worked there I, uh… I had a habit of hiding whenever I saw you coming."

"I didn't beat you up as kids, did I?"

That got a laugh from him. "No, it was… forget it."

Somehow, that raised more questions than answers. She still couldn't believe she hadn't seen him in all that time, but she was pretty sure she would have remembered a face like his.

"Look up ahead," Hiccup said, bringing her back from her thoughts.

Up ahead, as they descended through the clouds, the city skyline came into focus, until it lay spread out before them.

She had seen the skyline from a distance, and she had seen bird's-eye-view photos. But this… This was totally different.

Red and white lights traveled down the freeway in and out of the city, like blood through a beating heart. It glowed with all the lights that tried to keep the night at bay. They were too far away for her to see people, or individual cars on the streets… but it was still obvious that the city was alive. She remembered what Rapunzel had said about life, and how it was more than she ever could have imagined.

Looking at it from this perspective… Astrid understood exactly what she meant.

"Kinda puts it in a new perspective, huh?" Hiccup asked.

Astrid nodded. "The world must be so boring for you. I mean, you see this all the time, then you have to go back down into it."

She imagined it was something like every time she was on a track, free to race at whatever speed she wanted, adrenaline coursing through her veins… Until eventually she had to stop.

"Not really," he said. "It's made me more of aware of just how much happens that I don't see."

But he hesitated, and she knew there was more to it. "You're right, though. Rapunzel showed me this quote once, about how once you've flown, your eyes are always looking up to the sky, wanting to be up here again. And it's true."

Astrid smirked.

Toothless flew over the city, from one end to the other, and Astrid forced herself to look down so she could see the blurred lights of cars as they went down the long streets, all trying to get somewhere. Home? Away from home? Trying to get a taste of the thrill she herself was having at that moment?

They reached the other side of the city, near the train tracks, and Toothless started to arc back around, dipping closer to the ground. Something caught Hiccup's attention, and his head whipped around towards…something. All Astrid saw the gentle flutter of a clear plastic tarp.

"Hang on, Bud," Hiccup said, just as they started angling back up. His tone had taken a serious weight.

They stopped in midair, Hiccup looking intently towards a stack of shipping containers.

"What's wrong?" Astrid asked.

"Wait here," he said. "I'll be right back."

Toothless started to descend, but Astrid tightened her grip on Hiccup's jacket.

"No way."

"Astrid—"

"No," she repeated, not exactly thinking about what she was saying.

Hiccup looked back at her, and she realized that she was being carefully appraised, as he considered what was probably about to happen. She expected him to argue further.

Instead, he nodded.

"Alright," he said. "Just keep quiet."

Just her hold on Hiccup's jacket was enough for Astrid to feel that his muscles had tensed as he brought Toothless low over the train yard.

"Stay in the shadows, Bud," he said softly.

Toothless wove in between the scattered pools of light cast by the few lampposts set up around the yard, towards the shipping containers that were stacked four or five high. He came to land next to one of the higher crates, staying in its shadow as he stalked towards the edge.

From the outside, the containers had appeared to be a solid block. But when they reached the edge, Astrid found they were looking down at a twenty by twenty foot space, illuminated by an industrial lamp perched on an old crate. She narrowed her eyes as she looked at the three men who stood in the opening.

"Is that—"

Hiccup gestured for her to be quiet.

She was sure that two of the men were the Stabbington Brothers. The third was too far out of the light for Astrid to see his face. Just that he was tall and broad.

"You're sure it's secure?" one of the brothers asked, and Astrid almost missed it across the distance.

The other nodded.

She and Hiccup both leaned forward, careful to stay in the protection of the shadows.

"Last I heard, you gentlemen were in the employ of Gothel," the man said, in a deep, nasal voice that managed to be lazy and insulting at the same time. "When you managed to stay out of prison."

"Gothel's partnered with Pitch Black, and whatever kind of team he's putting together," one of the brothers said – the larger of the two.

"And you two aren't interested in working for the Nightmare King?" The question sounded rhetorical, as though the man didn't think anyone wanted to work for the Nightmare King.

"The Big 4 are a nuisance, sure," the spokesman brother said. "But we're more interested in money than revenge."

Astrid swallowed the lump that had risen in her throat. Her heart pounded in her chest, and she was sure Hiccup at least could hear it.

There was a silent moment that stretched and tense. When the shadowed man spoke, Astrid got the impression that, whatever this conversation was supposed to be about, this was the information he was really here for.

"So that's what Black is after? Revenge?"

"As far as we know."

"Are you gonna hire us or not?" the second brother – the one with the eyepatch – asked, obviously losing patience.

The man gave a dark, humorless laugh. "Gentlemen, if Pitch Black is about to turn Burgess City into his personal playground for exacting revenge on the Big 4, then I have no intention of hiring anyone. I intend to cut my losses and leave town before the storm hits. There must still be somewhere that hasn't been overrun by these costumed freaks and their fire breathing pets. That dragon has cost me a fortune in merchandise." He cleared his throat. "You would be well advised to do the same."

"Why did you have us come all the way out here if you're not hiring?" Eyepath asked, the anger in his voice giving the question the air of a threat.

The other put his hand on his brother's arm, though Astrid guessed he had no problems with violence. He just wanted answers first.

But before Ratcliffe could answer, Hiccup nudged Toothless's sides with his heels. The motion just enough warning for Astrid to tighten her hold on his jacket.

Toothless lunged down into the opening below them, towards the three. It took all Astrid's will power not to make a sound, or grab onto Hiccup's waist again.

From there, everything happened so fast she barely had time to breath.

Toothless went first for the portable light, knocking it off the crate with a flick of his tail. It rolled across the packed dirt and gravel, causing flashes of light so rapid her eyes didn't even have time to adjust before it went black again.

It felt like being on a roller coaster, diving this way and that, only catching glimpses of what was happening when the light was just right. The men called to each other, but Toothless was did an excellent job of stopping them whenever they tried to make a break for the exit.

The light finally came to a stop on its side, and Toothless moved to ensure it was behind them, shining directly on the three men. Astrid blinked, her eyes trying to readjust.

Before they did, Toothless roared and lunged forward one last time. The men stumbled back… right through the open door of an empty shipping container. Hiccup jumped off the dragon's back to slam the door shut and slide the bolt into place.

She saw his shoulders sag as he exhaled. "I hate doing that without my helmet."

"What now?" Astrid asked, as he came back over to Toothless.

"Now, we go home," he said, remounting in front of her. "Rapunzel or I will call the cop we deal with when we have to, and he'll take it from there."

The answer was so… casual.

"I recognized the Stabbington Brothers, but who was the other guy?" she asked.

"Ratcliff," Hiccup sighed. "He's a local crime lord – mostly just smuggling and gambling rings. If the Stabbington Bothers were looking for employment it would have been as enforcers or something. He'll probably walk, as usual." Annoyance crept into his voice at that last. Obviously, this wasn't the first time Hiccup had caught Ratcliff red handed.

Toothless rose from the ground, taking to the sky once more. The trip back was less surreal, her mind too occupied for her to pay attention to her surroundings. They were back at the ranch before she had fully processed everything.

"Sorry it turned into… that," Hiccup said, as they landed on the back porch.

Once he had dismounted, he turned back to offer her a hand to help her down. Astrid could have gotten down without help, but she accepted never the less.

"Do you do that a lot?" she asked.

"Do what?"

"I used to think you guys were only in it for the attention," she admitted. "But tonight was nothing like what they show on the news."

"That would have made for some lousy news footage," he pointed out.

Astrid smacked his shoulder with the back of her hand.

He chuckled, rubbing his shoulder.

"Yeah," he said. "We do that a lot."

Nodding, Astrid tried to figure out if that required a response, or if she should just go inside.

Through the glass of the sliding door she could see Jack and Rapunzel in the living room, which looked warm and inviting. She decided to go in. Anything that needed to be said could be said there.

But before she started to slide the door open, she realized there was something she wanted to say while they were alone on the pourch.

Turning back to Hiccup, who was a step behind her, Astrid pressed a quick kiss to his cheek.

"Thank you." She turned away quickly, before she could think too much about what she had just done, and before she could see his reaction.

"There you are," Rapunzel said, as Astrid stepped through the door.

"She's making me wait for dessert," Jack said, a hint of whine in his tone. He lay on one of the couches, reading what looked like a school book. A moment later his expression turned serious as Hiccup came in. "What happened?"

Hiccup slid the door shut once Toothless has followed him inside. Exhaling, he rolled his right shoulder as he walked into the kitchen. "The usual – the Stabbington Brothers were talking to Ratcliff down by the tracks."

"Where are they now?"

"Locked in a shipping container," Astrid said, grinning despite herself as she flopped down into one of the arm chairs.

Jack snickered.

"Are you guys all right?" Rapunzel asked. She had gone into the kitchen, though Astrid couldn't see what she was doing.

Hiccup opened the door of the fridge and pulled out a bottle of orange juice. "We're fine."

Rapunzel looked at Astrid, who nodded.

"You know, Hiccup, that's not what they mean when they recommend active first dates," Jack said.

"Shut up," Hiccup said, pouring a glass of the juice. As he took a drink, he glanced over at Rapunzel. "Sorry, Punz, I forgot about dessert. I didn't think we'd be gone so long."

"As long as you're both okay," Rapunzel said. "Do you want me to call the detective?"

Hiccup nodded. "The phone is in my desk drawer."

Rapunzel finished serving dessert before she vanished through the archway, presumably into Hiccup's room. Astrid felt a strange twitch of something in her stomach that she couldn't quite name as she realized that. But she pushed it aside, and instead focused on savoring the apple pie with homemade whipped cream, spiked with nutmeg and allspice.

Merida seemed to appear out of nowhere as soon as Rapunzel started serving up the pie.

When Rapunzel returned a few minutes later, she sat next to Jack, who adjusted his position to accommodate her. They sat close, elbows occasionally brushing, and glancing over to make brief eye contact whenever they did. Jack would grin, and Rapunzel would blush as she smiled. Every so often they would lean over to whisper to each other over the conversation about school work and weekend plans.

Astrid remembered what Hiccup had said about the two pretending not to make eyes at each other, and decided she was very glad that she had gone on the flight. She had been anyway… but she wasn't sure how much of those two she could handle. Hiccup and Merida made nothing of it, so apparently it was the normal routine.

Once she had finished, Astrid set her plate on the end table next to the armchair, and leaned her head back, listening to the others talk. Not even paying attention to the words. Before she could even register just how tired she was, Astrid sank into the welcoming embrace of sleep.


	10. Worlds Collide

**EDIT 2/28/16: Combined chapters 14 and 15. Other than that, just simple type changes. **

Chapter 10: Worlds Collide

Astrid dreamed about Vikings and dragons. About flying over glaciers, and through the clouds. She dreamed about Hiccup and Toothless. Eret and Drago showed up at one point, but that part of the dream was hazy, and mostly forgotten as soon as it had passed.

When she woke up, she had to blink as she took in her unfamiliar surroundings. Though she didn't really want to – she had been enjoying sleep too much.

But the more she was pulled awake, the more confused she was.

She wasn't in her apartment, that was the first thing she was sure of. The room was bigger than her bedroom.

Sitting up, she looked around for any clue as to where she was. As she did she grimaced, discovering that she had slept in her jeans. Her top was hopelessly wrinkled.

White walls, the bed made up with quilts, and green sheets with matching pillow cases. The bedside table, and the desk in one corner, were carved wood.

Sunlight poured through two large windows on her left. Outside she could see evergreen trees beyond a wide lawn. Something moved through the grass, about the size of a small dog, but covered in light green scales. It pounced on something, and Astrid snickered as it landed face-first in the grass.

It was one of the dragons she had seen in the stables the night before.

Memory started to come back.

She must have fallen asleep on the couch after eating desert with Hiccup and the others. And someone must have carried her…wherever she was. A spare room, if the simple, impersonal decorations were any indication.

Standing up, she risked a glance at the oval mirror in a wooden frame on the wall. Immediately she pulled the tie off her braid, which had mostly come out while she slept. Her scalp protested the discomfort as she combed her fingers through the messy strands.

When she looked around again, her eyes landed on something neatly folded on the desk. Going over to it, she found a note on top, written in a swirly, feminine hand.

_This should fit you, if your shirt it wrinkled. ~Rapunzel_

It proved to be a purple tshirt, simple and fitted. From anyone else it would seem strange… but the forethought and consideration fit what she knew of Rapunzel.

Astrid traded her wrinkled top for the tee gratefully, and quickly redid her braid to keep her hair out of the way. Deciding she was presentable, she headed for the closed door.

It opened into a wide, carpeted hallway. To her right it continued with four staggered doors, so none of them were directly across from each other. A fifth door was at the end of the hall. She went left, towards the arched entry to the living room.

Autumn sunlight poured through the large windows, so she had to blink as she descended the two down from the dimly lit hallway. It looked a little different in the daylight – something about the lighting gave it a different affect.

The biggest difference was that it was empty. And quiet.

It was still comfortable and homey… but the emptiness was strange. Actually, it looked like the kind of living room you would see in a magazine, she thought.

Glancing around to be sure there really was no one else there, Astrid gave in to her curiosity and went over to the section of the wall by the fireplace that was covered with framed photos. She had noticed them the night before, but hadn't had a chance to look at them.

Her attention was caught by family photos of Hiccup with his parents – especially of him with his father. She had tried to connect the two in her mind, to find any resembled between Hiccup and the pictures she had seen of Stoick. But no matter how hard she had tried, she hadn't been able to.

The resembled between Hiccup and Valka was obvious, of course. They had the same lean frame, and the same reddish brown hair – though Hiccup's was a little redder.

As she looked at the picture of a young Hiccup with his mountain-like, red bearded father, the differences seemed all the greater. But she saw that they had the same green eyes. The same nose. Similar smiles, too.

There were pictures of the others, as well. One of Hiccup and Rapunzel looked like it was a selfie, taken at the amusement park a few miles out of town. Rapunzel's hair was long and blonde, pulled back in a braid. Judging from how young they both looked, Astrid guessed it had been taken not long after they had met.

Astrid grinned as the pictures tracked Hiccup's growth from a scrawny kid to a young man who had clearly figured out who he was. Even if Rapunzel's appearance wasn't a giveaway of when he had started down the superhero path, Astrid could see the abrupt change in the way he held himself.

A picture of Hiccup, Merida, Stoick, and Valka, at the dining room table, with what looked like Thanksgiving dinner, must have been taken by Rapunzel.

A little further, and Jack showed up – always with brown hair.

There was one of all four at what she recognized as Look Out Pass, the highest point on one of Burgess's many hiking trails. They were all flushed from the steep climb, but they were grinning, too.

The sliding door opened, the sound making her look over as Hiccup came in.

She only had a moment to wonder if she should be embarrassed for looking at the pictures. But he spoke before she could decide.

"You should see Rapunzel's photo albums," he said, nodding towards the pictures as he came over. "She didn't stop taking pictures for the first few months. She still takes a lot of them. I'm surprised she didn't pull out her camera last night."

"It's kinda cool, though," Astrid said, looking over the whole array again. "Being able to look back over it all."

"I didn't think you'd be the sentimental type." He looked over at her.

Astrid shrugged. Normally, she wasn't. But there was something about the framed pictures that she liked. "My family never really did pictures."

"Stick around," Hiccup grinned. "Rapunzel will take more than you know what to do with."

She almost asked if that meant she was invited back.

"How did you sleep?" he asked, after surveying the pictures for a moment.

"Fine." She felt a little embarrassed now that she thought about it. (A feeling she couldn't seem to escape this morning.) "Sorry. I didn't mean to pass out."

She had been invited to dinner, and she was still there… she didn't even know how many hours later.

Hiccup weaved off her apology. "We pass out on the couch so much, it's normal for us."

"Yeah, but that's because you guys are out fighting."

"Well, last night was kinda exciting," Hiccup reminded.

Astrid snickered, remembering the night before. "You're the one who did it. I just sat there."

But Hiccup shook his head. "When we first started, none of us could figure out why we were sleeping all the time, even when we didn't do much. Until Mom pointed out that we were wearing ourselves out mentally as well as physically. Excitement is exhausting."

That made sense, and made Astrid feel better. It couldn't have been much later than midnight when she had fallen asleep, but the light outside told her it was well into the morning.

"What time is it, anyway?" she asked, looking around for a clock.

"About eleven, I think."

Astrid cringed. She couldn't remember the last time she had slept so late.

"Where is everyone?"

"Uh…" he looked around the living room as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Mom is on Berk. Jack and Rapunzel went hiking, with Jack's normal protests that she takes everything but the kitchen sink. Merida is doing…whatever Merida does in her free time. I still haven't figured that out."

"Do you have any plans?" she asked, wondering if she should take her leave, but not wanting to.

He shook his head. "Some homework, but not much. You?"

She shook her head. There was some homework waiting for her too… but other than that, all she had to look forward to was another boring weekend.

"Do you want something to eat?" Hiccup asked. "Rapunzel made omelets for breakfast, and I think she had some leftovers to make you one."

Astrid snickered. "I can barely cook scrambled eggs."

"Well, luckily for you, I can cook," Hiccup grinned. "If you want."

For a moment she thought about saying no, that she could just have cereal, or head out and fend for herself… but she nodded.

"Come on," Hiccup said, heading into the kitchen.

Astrid took a seat at the breakfast bar while he went over to the fridge and pulled the doors open. From where she sat she could see that it was filled with everything from meat and produce to leftovers and Chinese takeout boxes.

"The saddest part is that we're gonna eat all this by Wednesday," Hiccup muttered, pulling out the carton of eggs and several small Tupperware stacked on top of each other.

"Does Rapunzel always do the cooking?" Astrid asked. "When you don't order takeout?"

He set the ingredients on the counter, holding the fridge door open with his prosthetic foot. He took four eggs out of the carton before putting them back and taking out the milk.

"Mom can't cook," he said. "Dad always said it was a good thing he didn't marry her for her cooking. Even if Merida could, she refuses. Unless there's a grill involved. Jack tries to deny that he _can_ cook, unless it means he gets to be close to Rapunzel – or when she isn't available to cook. But she seems to get offended when we try to."

He started working with more focused intensity than Astrid had ever seen anyone put into an omelet. He was so obviously an engineer it was almost funny. She watched him whisk the eggs together before pouring them into the cast iron pan. It surprised her that he actually seemed to know what he was doing.

"Where's Toothless?" she asked after a couple minutes, realizing this was the first time she had seen him without the dragon since she had arrived at the house.

"Eh, probably off terrifying local wildlife. He wanted to stay outside when we got back. If you're lucky, you'll get to see him open the sliding door."

"You're kidding."

He shook his head, grinning. "It's a sight, believe me. I just wish he would learn to close it."

Before Astrid could decide if she believed him or not, he set two plates on the stone counter in front of her. She managed to wait until he came around the bar to start eating.

It was easily the best breakfast she had had in a while. Admittedly, her normal yogurt or cereal wasn't much competition.

"Oh," Hiccup paused between bites. "There was an article about the Stabbington Brothers online this morning. It's better than I expected. Ratcliffe was actually arrested, based on the Stabbington Brothers' plea bargain." His expression darkened. "Of course, he'll probably pay his bail and skip the country before the trial. Or they just won't find enough evidence to go to trial."

"The Stabbington Brothers are back in jail though," Astrid reminded.

"That's the good news," Hiccup agreed. "Some of the first good news this week. The article said the police got an anonymous tip, so there was no mentioned of us." He looked over at her with a fresh grin. "Congratulations, you just caught your first bad guy."

"I didn't do anything," she reminded.

"All I did was steer Toothless," Hiccup said. "And I wouldn't have been out there if it weren't for you. Take _some_ credit, Astrid."

She looked over at him, wondering if she really was allowed to take credit. Normally she would have accepted without argument… but she still didn't feel she had done enough to warrant it.

This time.

"Now we just have to figure out what Pitch is up to," Hiccup said after a moment, taking a sip from a glass of orange juice.

"How?" She was getting a little frustrated with herself, that she had to keep asking questions.

"Wait for him to make the next move." Hiccup poked at the remainder of his omelet. "There's not much else we can do. Even Jack can't figure out how to find him."

Astrid considered that as she took a few more bites.

"How do you deal with that?" she asked. "I mean, how do you keep going to school and everything without going crazy?" She doubted she would be so calm if she knew the Nightmare King had a personal vendetta against her.

"You kinda get used to it," he said with a shrug. "At first, yeah, it was paralyzing. There were a lot of nights when I couldn't sleep. But pointed out that it wasn't doing any good, and it just meant they were winning. So I made the decision to stay ready, but keep going with my life."

Astrid shook her head in amazement. She was pretty sure she would go crazy if she were in his position.

But then, Rapunzel and Jack were off hiking, and Merida was off somewhere. They were all living their lives, so maybe there was something to the philosophy.

"It was that or spend my life in fear," Hiccup pointed out. "And the more we beat them, the easier it gets. I couldn't do it without the others, though."

Astrid tried to imagine being a part of the team. For a group of people who hadn't known each other for more than five years (even less in Jack's case), they had become a close knit family that needed and supported each other.

She was deep in those thoughts, and others that hadn't formed enough for her to recognize them yet, when Hiccup nudged her arm.

"Look," he said, nodding towards the sliding door.

She looked over, and had to bite back a laugh when she saw Toothless sitting on the other side. He looked at Hiccup through the glass, his head cocked to the side in a silent request.

"You can do it," Hiccup said, apparently unaffected by the dragon's pleading look.

Toothless looked at them for another moment, before accepting that Hiccup wasn't going to open the door for him. Sitting back on his back legs, he lifted one paw to the door's handle.

Astrid's eye widened in disbelief as she watched the dragon wrestle with it. After a moment he got one of his claws hooked around the handle, and pulled the door open a crack. She let out a stunned laugh.

There was just enough room for the dragon to wedge one foot between the door and the frame, and he used that to leverage it open enough for him to prance inside the house. He looked insufferably pleased with himself as he waltzed over to Hiccup.

"Don't look so smug until you learn to close it," Hiccup said, getting off his stool to go over to the door.

But Toothless clearly saw no reason to wrestle with the door when it wasn't in his way.

When he sat back down, Hiccup was absently scratching the dragon that now seemed fixed to his side.

Looking at them, Astrid decided that Hiccup did look more complete with the dragon next to him. She remembered what Jack had said the night before, about how strange it was to see Hiccup without him, The next time she saw Hiccup at the school, she would probably be half expecting the dragon to come up as well.

Then she remembered: she didn't have any reason to see Hiccup at the school anymore.

"You okay?" Hiccup asked, and she realized her disappointment must have shown on her face.

"Yeah. I just realized that, now the jacket is done, I probably won't be seeing you much," she admitted. "I don't have any reason to go to the art lab."

"Oh." Hiccup's face fell a little.

Toothless cocked his head as he looked at Hiccup, sensing his human's change in mood, but not understanding what had caused it.

Hiccup didn't answer at first, his expression pensive.

"Well, if you want, I'm sure we can think of something."

#

Astrid got home late Saturday afternoon… and by Sunday, she was already going stir crazy.

It had always been just her in the apartment, so the quiet was nothing new. It was part of why she had moved out on her own: because even with two of her brothers gone, the house had been too loud. Especially when she was trying to do homework. It was kind of hard to memorize every muscle in the human body when her dad was yelling at the TV, or the dogs were barking at a raccoon that got too close to the house.

That noise she didn't miss. But there had been something about the noise level of the Haddock house that had been… comfortable. The conversations, the clang of pots and pans in the kitchen, even Jack and Merida bickering. It was a home, and the sound was a reminder that they weren't alone.

After experiencing that for the first time, it made the quiet of her own apartment too heavy to handle.

So after her kickboxing class Sunday morning, she headed to the garage. It was better than her apartment, and she had nowhere else to go.

She had forgotten how busy the shop was on Sundays. Everyone wanted to get routine maintenance done _that day_. As if they all woke up, realized they had to go back to work the next day, but still had a whole list of things they needed to get done. So the waiting room was full when she stepped inside.

Eret was behind the counter. As usual.

"Hey, Astrid," he greeted, setting aside one of his many clipboards as a woman with two young children left the counter to find a seat. (Something about the look of the children promised there would be screaming at some point while they were there.) "What's up?" 

She was about to say she was good. But it hit her suddenly that he had worked for Drago Blüdvist. Even harder than when Hiccup had told her, because now she was face-to-face with him.

How did you even up working for someone like that? Sure, Eret had an ego, but she had never thought he might have something so grim in his history. Even the probation officer jokes had never made her suspect he might have worked for the megalomaniac who had trashed half the city a little over a year ago… and three years before that. Right before Eret had shown up in the garage. She had assumed he was just a recovering juvenile delinquent who was arrested for graffiti or something. (She had ruled out drugs, since that didn't fit. Unless it was steroids…)

"You all right?" he asked.

She nodded, shaking off the thoughts as she reached the counter. "Yeah, sorry. I just came in to get some snow tires."

It was a little early, but not unreasonable so. Snow could arrive in Burgess as early as October. Judging by the recent storms, it would probably start soon, too. (Vaguely, she wondered if their early winters had anything to do with Jack's affect on the weather. She didn't remember winters being so strong when she was a child.)

Somehow, meeting the Big 4 was changing her entire way of thinking. This must be what it was like to have your whole world flipped upside down. Finding out that things you thought you knew weren't what you thought, and suddenly seeing them in a new way.

Eret's brow furrowed as he lifted a sheet on one of the clipboards. She knew it was bad news even before he spoke. "We're booked for the rest of the day."

"Seriously?"

"Sorry."

Astrid sighed in frustration as she braced her elbows on the counter. This was the only excuse she had come up with to stay away from her apartment.

"Did you find what you were looking for the other day?"

It took her a second to remember what he meant. It felt as though it had been a lot longer than three days since she had come in looking for Hiccup.

"A lot more than I was looking for," she said, trying to think of the best way to phrase it without saying it outright – sound carried in the waiting room. "I was looking for Hiccup."

Judging from the way the blood drained from Eret's face as soon as she said Hiccup's name, that was enough.

"So… you know?"

Astrid nodded.

Eret rubbed the back of his neck. "She's gonna kill me," he muttered. "I'm so dead. She's gonna use me for target practice, and feed what's left to the dragons."

Astrid quirked an eyebrow.

As if the universe was enjoying the show, the door to the garage opened. One of the mechanics leaned his head around the doorframe.

"Eret, your probation officer is here," he said with a smirk.

If it was possible, Eret went even paler. Actually, he was edging towards green. And, thanks to the "target practice" line, Astrid was starting to put the pieces together.

Honestly, how had the Big 4 been operating so close to her life all this time, and she never noticed anything? She liked to think she was an observant person, but she hadn't even noticed Merida until a couple weeks ago. Of all of them, Merida seemed like the one who would stand out the most.

Sure enough, when she looked back towards the door, she saw Hiccup and Merida both coming up to the door.

"Both of them," Eret groaned. "Why does this always happen to me?"

"Cosmic punishment?" Astrid asked, snickering. Her amusement probably wasn't polite… but this should be interesting, and she was enjoying it.

"Shut up," he hissed, under his breath.

They watched the two teammates approach, embroiled in a discussion, even as Hiccup reached for the door and held it open.

"—ot following you," Hiccup said. "You're mistaking me for Jack."

Astrid's brows rose further.

"Hey, Eret," Hiccup said, looking toward the counter. Was it her imagination that he started to grin a little when he saw her. "Hey, Astrid."

He wore his brow leather jacket, over jeans and a black tshirt. All in all, she was not complaining about the image. How, how, how had she never noticed him before?

"So that's how ya found the house," Merida said, looking between Astrid and Eret.

He was definitely looking a little green.

"It's fine," Hiccup said, coming up to the counter.

Merida looking over at Hiccup, as though she were going to argue… but she shrugged, before turning back to Eret. "Ya ready?"

"I have to ask Gobber."

Rolling her eyes, Merida went over and pushed open the door to the garage – which had a very clear "EMPLOYEES ONLY!" sign on the glass.

"Hey, Gobber! I'm stealin' yer secretary for lunch."

"I'm not a secretary," Eret muttered. Even as he organized some of the clipboards strewn across the desk.

"Yes, you are," Astrid said, in unison with Hiccup and Merida.

The garage door opened a moment after Merida let it swing shut, and Gobber came into the lobby.

"I keep tellin' ya, lass, ya can't take him on my busiest day," he told Merida. He nodded a greeting. "Hiccup. Astrid." His expression was extremely satisfied seeing them together.

Hiccup waved.

Merida was already talking, so there wasn't room for anything else.

"He has t' take a lunch."

"For half an hour," Gobber said. "Yoo're always takin 'im for an hour."

"I'm standing right here," Eret said, but neither of the combatants seemed to hear him.

"I think they enjoy it," Hiccup murmured.

Gobber and Merida stood almost toe to toe, and the red head didn't appear the slightest bit intimidated. Her hands were on her hips as she met the larger man's gaze squarely. It was Braveheart, just without the uniform.

"It's the only break he gets all day," Merida said. "It works out."

Gobber considered. "Where are ya goin'?"

"Mexican," Merida said.

"Didn't we have Mexican last week?" Eret asked.

"Deep fried ice cream," Merida said, as though that explained it.

According to Eret's shrug, it was good enough explanation for him.

"Fine," Gobber waved. "Bring me back somethin'."

Merida nodded, obviously satisfied with her victory as she turned to Eret. He had already grabbed his jacket (even before Gobber waved them off), and was shrugging into it.

"Your car, or mine?"

"Yours," Merida said.

Eret nodded as he pulled his keys from his pocket, following Merida out of the garage.

"She thinks they're less obvious that Jack and Rapunzel," Hiccup said, as soon as the door closed behind them.

Gobber scoffed. "That lass doesn't have a subtle bone in her body."

"What did you mean about Jack following her around?" Astrid asked.

"A couple years ago, to mess with her, Jack followed her everywhere for a couple days," Hiccup said. "I was already in town, but I was behind her for a couple blocks on the way here."

"Why are ya here?" Gobber asked. "If you've got some free time, there's plenty of work to do."

"Sorry," Hiccup said. "Eret sent me a text saying that package was here."

"Ah." Gobber looked around the desk, which was fairly neat… but Eret was the only one who actually knew where everything was. "Ya shoulda come on Friday, when I knew where it was."

"I was busy."

Gobber grunted. "I don't know where he put it. Ya can look through the office."

"Thanks."

"Want help?" Astrid asked.

"Sure."

She followed him around the counter, into the office. Which was a lot less organized than the front desk.

"I used to try and keep this place somewhat neat when I worked here," Hiccup said, running a hand through his hair.

"I'm guessing it's not a big package." She didn't see any large boxes anywhere. Any boxes period, actually.

Hiccup shook his head, holding up his hands to form a six inch square. "Should be about this. Can you look on that table?"

She went over to the side table he had gestured to and started sifting through the layers of loose papers, tools, a calculator, and candy bar wrappers. The tools she set on the corner of the table, since Gobber would probably want them back.

"Have ya done any work on the basement?" Gobber called, from the front desk.

"Jack keeps running off," Hiccup said. "The wiring is done, but I can't finish the framework and the walls on my own."

"Astrid has some carpentry experience," Gobber said, his tone pointed for some reason.

Astrid snickered. "Hardly."

When she glanced over, she saw Hiccup shaking his head, eyes closed.

"I don't need experience, I just need a second pair of hands," he said after a moment.

"What are you doing in the basement?"

"Trying to make a headquarters," Hiccup said. "You probably noticed, the garage isn't exactly secure. But Jack won't stick around and help me finish it.

"I don't have anything to do," Astrid said. "I can help if you want."

Hiccup looked over from the desk. "You sure?"

Astrid shrugged, trying not to seem too eager. But it was something to do that didn't involve going back to her apartment. Even better, if didn't require sitting in the shop all day.

"Don't—Here it is."

Looking over from her own search, she saw Hiccup pull a small box, about the size of a CD jewel case, from among the papers.

"Hong Kong," he said, looking over the label that wrapped around most of the way around the box. "That explains why it took so long."

"What is it?"

"It's for a school project," he said. "I could have made them, but I don't want to explain to the teacher why I have a forge in my backyard."

She snickered. Yeah, that would be kind of hard to explain.

"Plus, I ran out of time," he added, before looking over at her again. "So, I don't know." He shrugged, shoulders, arms, and hands getting in on the motion. An attempt at casual that didn't exactly hit the mark. "Wanna come help me?"

Her attempt at casual probably missed the mark, too. "Sure."

#

When Hiccup had shown her the garage the day before, it had been mostly organized. Now was a different matter entirely.

Hiccup had thrown yet another bolt of leather over the workbench, and several wooden beams leaned in one corner. The rug in front of the couch was a mess, and the strange angle of the couch suggested it had been pushed aside quickly.

Hiccup lead her up the three wooden steps to the door. Straight ahead she could see the living room, but they turned into the laundry room instead.

Both the washer and dryer were heavy duty – probably necessary considering how many of them there were. On top of the washer was a basket of laundry, waiting for the load inside the machine to be moved. Several stacks of folded clothes were piled on top of the second machine.

It was the items hanging from the rack above the sink that caught Astrid's attention, though.

Before Hiccup's fall a couple weeks earlier, she might not have recognized Merida's Braveheart jacket. (Out of all their uniforms, it was the piece that changed the most often, as far as Astrid could tell.) But after the hours of footage she had watched since then, she immediately recognized the half-dry garment. It was mostly a dark indigo, save for brown, black, and royal blue detailing. Up close, she could make out the intricate Celtic knots embroidered on the panels over the shoulders, which the news cameras weren't able to catch.

Several other things hung from the rack. But the jacket was the most distinctive, and it was right at the front.

She was so distracted by it, she didn't notice what Hiccup was doing until she heard him open a door in the back corner that she hadn't even seen. He flipped the light switch as she came up behind him.

A staircase lead straight down, then turned right for the last few steps. Hiccup started down carefully, one hand braced on the wall.

"Where's Toothless?" she asked, following a couple steps behind.

The stairs were wide enough the dragon probably could get down them with little trouble.

"He and the blue Nadder are off having a play date or something," he said. "I need to figure out a name for her. She came over to the garage earlier, and Toothless ran out so fast he almost knocked the couch over."

That explained part of the mess in the garage.

"The Bat Cave, as Merida calls it." Hiccup gestured as they reached the bottom steps.

Astrid looked around at… the half finished basement. It took her a moment to look beyond the wooden framework and loose wires for her to make out more than that.

Even with the partial framework up for several walls, the space was massive.

"I've been working on this for almost two years," he said. "My dad and I…" he stopped. Took a deep breath. Exhaled. "I've done as much as I can on my own, and on the few days Jack doesn't run off.

"There's going to be a computer array over there. We'll probably bring the couch down from the garage. That'll be a gym, another bathroom, a medical room… if I ever get it all done."

"What needs to be done?"

"The frame for the second wall to the medical room—" he gestured again to the far left corner, where one frame was already up "—the sheetrock, the floor, the baseboards, paint, and set up."

"No pressure," Astrid muttered, looking around.

"On top of school, being Night Fury, and everything else."

Astrid looked over at him, the corners of her mouth pulling in a grin. "We should probably get to work then."


	11. What It Looks Like From Up There

**EDITED 3/14/16 – Fixed some typos. **

_Chapter 11: What It Looks Like From Up There_

Astrid's construction experience was limited to occasionally helping her father with projects around the house. And the shed he had built out back. Though that never actually been finished, despite the year or two he had worked on it.

Working with Hiccup was completely different. For one, he actually had a clue what he was doing. He worked with an engineer's precision, and the steady speed that came with experience. The wood to make the framework for the wall was precut, so he just had to line the pieces up, telling her where to screw the pieces together. (He had the kind of power tools her father dreamed of. And they were well taken care of, but still marked from use.)

In less than forty minutes they had the framework raised, creating the last partition in the space. Astrid couldn't help but grin as she looked at it. She couldn't remember the last time she had accomplished something she could actually step back and look at.

They worked putting up the sheetrock until they had used up the stack that had been leaning against one of the unfinished walls. All together, it was less than a quarter of the wall space. Still, as Hiccup pointed out: it was progress.

"I'll pick up more when I'm in town tomorrow," he said, as they went upstairs.

"I don't have class in the afternoon, so I can come back to help," she offered. "If you want."

Hiccup shook his head. "No. I mean, that would be great. But I'm behind on school work, so I'll be in the lab all day."

"If you have all the tools you need here, why do you spend so much time in the lab?"

"Because Professor Felix checks the log to make sure we're all meeting the minimum lab time," he said, opening the door. "And I—"

He was interrupted by a squeak of surprise from Rapunzel. They both looked over to see her in front of the dryer, looking at them with wide eyes.

"Sorry," she said, blushing in surprise. "I didn't realize you were down there."

Hiccup chuckled. "Sorry for scaring you. Did you just get back?"

"A few minutes ago," Rapunzel said, recovering from her surprise. She pulled a shirt from the dryer and folded it neatly. "I just put the lasagna in the oven – it should be done in a couple hours."

"Thanks. Have you seen Toothless?"

"He and the blue Nadder are in the backyard," Rapunzel said. "Do we have a name for her yet?"

"No yet." Though something about Hiccup's tone made Astrid look over at him. To her surprise, he was looking at her, green eyes slightly out of focus as he considered something.

She was getting used to that. Though what he was thinking, she couldn't begin to guess.

"Will you meet me in the garage?" he asked, eyes snapping back into focus.

"Sure?"

He grinned again. "Thanks. I'll be there in a minute."

Before she could respond, he slipped past Rapunzel, turning towards the kitchen before he vanished from view.

Astrid turned to Rapunzel for some kind of explanation. But the older girl seemed just as surprised as she was.

"What's he up to?" Rapunzel asked.

"No clue," Astrid admitted. After another moment, she shrugged, and headed for the garage.

The light was on, and the couch had been put back into position. Rapunzel's doing, probably.

Crossing the garage, Astrid stepped outside and took a deep breath of the evening air. The sun was just starting to set, lighting up what few clouds there were in a brilliant display of pink and gold in the western sky. Above, the stars had already started to come out. She had lived in the city the past couple years, and sometimes she forgot how bright the stars were when you got away from the lights and the noise.

Less than forty-eight hours ago, she had been up there.

In the excitement of everything had happened Friday night, and since, she had all but forgotten about the fact she had flown over the city. Seen it laid out like a map.

The memory of flight washed over her. The rush of the wind, the sea of clouds, a sky full of stars… she had the sudden desire to be back up there. Her practical mind reminded her that she was afraid of heights, and the last thing she should want would be to get thousands of feet up in the air, with nothing but Hiccup and Toothless between her and a fall to certain death.

…But she was already trying to figure out if she could ask Hiccup to take her flying with him. He would probably be going up anyway. And it seemed like it would be worth a shot to ask, at least.

Those thoughts were interrupted by a happy squawk, and the rush of leather wings. The blue dragon touched down a few feet away, then pranced over. Astrid tensed as the dragon got closer. Riding Toothless was one thing. The Deadly Nadder looked… deadly. Razor sharp teeth jutted from her lower lip, and the crest of yellow spines around her from her head looked sharp enough to impale anyone so careless as to get too close.

The Nadder cocked her head to the side, fixing a yellow eye on Astrid.

Cautiously, holding her breath, Astrid held a hand out to the dragon. She half expected the Nadder to sniff at it – instead, a scaly nose bumped her palm. Smiling a little, Astrid stroked the blue scales – careful to keep her wrist away from the teeth.

"I think she's picked you," Hiccup said, from where he and Toothless had landed, a few seconds behind the Nadder.

Asked yanked her eyes from the dragon to look over at him. "What do you mean?"

"She seems to think she's yours," he explained. "Or vice-cersa."

"Mine?"

He shrugged, going into the garage. "Toothless picked me."

"When you were a baby." That seemed different from a random dragon deciding that Astrid was her human. Her hand started to fall from the Nadder's scaly blue nose. But the dragon bumped her palm again, making it clear she was not done with Astrid's attention.

She looked between Hiccup and the dragon.

"Don't ask me to explain it," Hiccup said, picking something up from the floor by the work bench. "But dragons form deep attachments. Once you earn her trust, there's nothing she won't do for you."

Astrid looked into the Nadder's eye again. Hesitantly, she lifted her other hand to stroke the dragon's jaw. "How do I earn her trust?"

"I think you already have." Hiccup came back over.

"But…" she wasn't sure what to say.

Somehow, she seemed to have ended up with a pet dragon.

Since the moment she had walked into the art lab, her life just kept getting weirder.

What would Anders think of any of this?

She laughed inwardly. Because there was so much she wanted to tell her brother, but wasn't sure that she could.

"I've never made a saddle for a Nadder before, so I'm not sure how well this will work," Hiccup said. "She wouldn't let me test it earlier."

"Wait. _Saddle_?"

As if in answer, Hiccup threw the saddle over the Nadder's back. The dragon squawked again – not happily this time. She twisted her head, trying to see what the new weight on her back was. When she made to try and flick the thing off with her nose, Hiccup placed a hand on her side.

"Easy, girl," he said. "Astrid, talk to her."

"What am I supposed to say?" When he shrugged, she looked back on the dragon, trying to swallow down a surge of panic.

Dragon.

She had a pet dragon.

This…

She touched the dragon's jaw to get her attention. The Nadder looked back, cocking her head again.

"Hey, will you take me flying?" Astrid asked. "Can I fly with you?"

The dragon seemed to bob her head… but Astrid wasn't sure if she was being crazy to think that the dragon was nodding at her.

She could hear the jingle of metal as Hiccup worked, but she didn't look away from the Nadder.

First dinner with the Big 4, now a dragon.

But as the surprise started to wear off… Having a dragon could be really cool.

"Um, my apartment doesn't allow cats," she said. "They're definitely not gonna let me bring in a dragon."

"I wouldn't even let her in the house," Hiccup admitted. "Toothless and the Terrors are the only ones we take inside. She can live here in the stable." He took a step back, examining his work.

"Not bad," he murmured, mostly to himself. She recognized his expression from when they had had the fitting for her jacket. "Not perfect, but it's a good start. You'll have to let me know how it works."

"Is this why you're behind on school work? 'Cause you were making this saddle?"

Hiccup looked sheepish as he patted the Nadder's shoulder. "This was more interesting."

He turned towards the Toothless. She heard his Night Fury prosthetic click into the gears.

"Wait. You want me to fly alone?"

"I'm going up with you," he said.

"I can't fly!"

Faced with flying, without Hiccup to hold on, she finally received her brain's reminders that she was afraid of heights. Very afraid of heights.

"You did Friday night."

"That was different," she said.

"It's not much different from riding a motorcycle," Hiccup said. "You'll do fine."

The dragon chirped, in what Astrid thought might be encouragement. So she took a deep, bracing breath, and gathered her courage. Setting one foot on the Nadder's leg, Astrid swung up into the saddle.

Unlike Toothless, who had the body shape of a lizard, the Nadder was built like a bird, so the angles were different. And it felt nothing like sitting on a motorcycle, either. It took her a few moments to get situated, learning the feel of the saddle.

She looked back over at Hiccup, who was once more mounted on Toothless.

"Just a quick flight," he said, grinning. "We have to be back in time for dinner."

Toothless shook his head and spread his wings, clearly done with all this talk. The Nadder did the same in response. Her wings were drak red, save for the blue spots rimmed with gold. Her wingspan was a few feet shorter than the Night Fury's, but they took off together, rising into the side.

Astrid grabbed the wooden handles, holding on for dear life as they rose though the crisp autumn air.

When she had wanted to fly again, it had been the assumption that it would be with Hiccup, and she would be free to grab onto him when her stomach dropped.

That was too much to think about on top of the fact she was flying solo. Well, some-what solo.

But now they were past gravity's pull on her, and the feeling of weightlessness settled in. They leveled out, and she relaxed her death grip as she looked around. Hiccup turned Toothless flew back towards her.

"You doing okay?"

Astrid took a moment to assess, but then nodded.

"See? Nothing to worry about."

Sure. If she didn't look down.

Hiccup turned away from the city, and Astrid felt the Nadder adjust direction to follow. Unlike a motorcycle, where she had to always be calculating and steering, she realized she could mostly let the dragon handle their direction. The movements were similar, though. When they started to arc left, her body leaned that way out of habit.

The whole living-fire-breathing-dragon thing was strange. But it was also easy, in a way she couldn't describe.

They picked up speed as she grew more comfortable with their flight. Hiccup lead her on a twisting, turning path above the woods. Wide arcs through the sky becoming tighter turns as she adjusted. Until she broke away from his lead, letting the dragon (for the most part) do what she wanted.

Below them the clouds had begun to gather, so it was easy to forget just how high up they really were. Even when the dragon began spiraling upwards, then slid back down in a rush that sent Astrid's heart pounding. But exhilaration mixed with fear, eclipsing it.

And this… this was amazing, she thought.

Against Astrid's will, the dragon decided to do a large loop, and once more she was holding on for dear life as she felt her body turn upside down. She didn't even realize she had screamed until they righted out, and she heard Hiccup laughing.

"That is not funny!" she said, though it was hard to sound angry when she was breathless, her heart pounding so hard all she could hear was blood rushing in her ears.

"Sorry," Hiccup said.

The dragon looked back at her, obviously confused.

For a moment Astrid almost snapped at the dragon… but found it hard to stay angry for some reason.

They flew on for a few more minutes – no more loop-the-loops, thankfully.

"Aside from that," Hiccup said, coming alongside her. No matter how fast they flew, Toothless didn't seem to have any trouble keeping up. "Not so bad."

"No, it's not," she admitted. Especially when she looked up at the thousands upon thousands of stars overhead. "I could probably get used to this."

"That's the idea. Now…" Hiccup stopped suddenly, looking around.

Astrid was about to ask what was wrong, then she felt it. The temperature was dropping. Fast. While it had been chilly this high up a few minutes earlier, now the air turned frigid. Its touch on her face wasn't enough to numb the skin, only to make it hurt. Their breaths came out in puffs of white fog, and the dragons made sounds of displeasure. She didn't blame them.

"Is this normal?" she asked.

When Hiccup didn't answer, she followed his gaze to the clouds below, which had started swirling with a new anger, growing thicker, and darker.

Astrid had seen clouds like this a few times. A few people muttered that they weren't normal… but she had always written it off as part of Burgess's strange weather patterns. Meeting Jack had made her question those "weather patterns", and that thought flashed through her mind now.

"Could Jack cause this?" she asked carefully.

"He could… but he has better control," Hiccup said, frowning. "It would take a lot to set him off. Especially since he's with Rapunzel."

She was going to ask what significance Rapunzel has on it (unless maybe it was tied to Jack's obvious infatuation). But before she could, Hiccup turned Toothless back towards the house.

"We should head back."

Their flight back was a straight line, rather than the meandering path they had taken.

"Since she's yours, you should probably pick out a name for her," Hiccup said, when they landed outside the stables.

Astrid dismounted, turning to stroke the dragon's side. There was no hesitation in the motion now.

"Stormfly," she said.

The Nadder – Stormfly – made an approving sound as she bumped Astrid's shoulder with her head. Grinning, Astrid looked over at Hiccup, and saw him smile as well. She could still make out worry on the edges of his expression, but it was mostly hidden.

"Stormfly it is," he said, nodding.

They left Stormfly in the stables and headed back to the house.

"Hey," Jack greeted, looking up from his laptop as they came in. "How was it?" he asked, meeting Astrid's eyes.

She couldn't help grinning at the memory of flight. "It was awesome."

"Have you seen the weather?" Hiccup asked.

Jack's expression shifted infinitesimally. "She's having a temper tantrum."

"Are you sure?" Hiccup asked, looking out at the clouds doubtfully. "This is more like you in a full on rage."

"I'm not even on," Jack said, gesturing to his hair, which was warm brown.

Hiccup frowned.

"If it doesn't blow over by tomorrow, I'll go talk to her," Jack said. "But I'm not in the mood to babysit."

"Who?" Astrid asked, tired of being left out of the loop.

Jack shook his head. "Elsa Arendelle. She refuses to learn to control her powers, and I'm tired of babysitting her."

"Jack," Hiccup said, a cautioning tone in his voice.

Jack's annoyance turned into a full on scowl, and Astrid couldn't help but stare as his coloring started to change. She had seen him go from Jack Frost to Jackson Overland the other day, but it was the first time she had seen him change the other way. His skin paled, the color bleeding out of his hair.

"I was having such a good day." He screwed up his face in concentration, and his coloring changed back.

#

Jack was usually the last person to fall asleep – he had always been a night owl. And he liked the way the house felt when everyone else was asleep. It was the peace he needed to think, but with the knowledge that the closest thing he had to a family was still nearby. And if they were all safely in bed, he didn't have to worry about any of them.

Valka was away on Berk, and that always seemed to create a tension in the air. It was something they had never spoken about, and he knew it centered on Hiccup. It wasn't that they worried about their den mother – she was on an island full of dragons who would give their lives for her. There was still the question every time she went away, though. One that had gotten a lot heavier since Stoick's death.

Astrid was asleep in the guestroom, despite protests that she didn't want to intrude. But Rapunzel had refused to let her drive back to the city when it was already past midnight. So she had accepted a set of pajamas from Rapunzel, and turned in with the rest of them. (Jack was predicting that it was going to be their new normal.)

Not long after he had joined the team, he had noticed that Stoick always did one last walk around the house, to be sure everything was as it should be. It had fascinated Jack, in a way. To his surprise, he had found it reassuring. Stoick might not have thought of Rapunzel and Merida as his children. But he was still a father. And he seemed hardwired to ensure that everyone in his care was safe.

One night, when he had been especially tired, Jack had had the image of Stoick as a Viking chief, or something. And they were his village. Hiccup had inherited his father's determination of protect his people, so to speak. But since Hiccup was on the back of a dragon, his range had given him a much larger scale.

Jack and Stoick hadn't initially gotten along. He knew his defiance of authority (and even his infatuation with Rapunzel), hadn't sat well with the man. They had reached a truce after a few months, when Jack had learned to follow the rules. But Stoick had died before they could progress to more than that.

But he had still developed a deep admiration for the man. Stoick was the opposite of Pitch. And if Jack had been a few years younger, he might have been more willing to admit that he found comfort in having Stoick as the head of their "family".

The night after Stoick had died, Jack had found himself following the routine he had watched so many times. Making sure the doors were locked, the lights were off (save for the one over the stove, which they always left on), and that everything was as it should be. And he had done it almost every night since. On the few nights when he hadn't, he hadn't slept well. It felt like neglecting his responsibilities, though he wasn't sure how he had come to think of it that way. Maybe it was because he was the oldest male in the house.

It took longer than usual for the house to settle down, since Astrid's presence wasn't part of their usual routine. Yet. And she had to use the bathroom in the hall that Jack and Hiccup shared. But eventually it did settle, and the familiar quiet wrapped around the house like a blanket.

Jack set aside his headphones and his essay, and left him room to do the rounds.

When he saw the light on in the living room, it was a pretty easy guess that it was Hiccup. He was usually the only person who deviated from schedule on normal nights. Sure enough, Hiccup sat at the breakfast bar, intently focused on whatever he was sketching.

"Don't you have class in the morning?" Jack asked, going over to the front door to check the lock.

Hiccup hummed noncommittally, without looking up from his journal. It was a sound that made it clear, yes, he should be asleep, but he didn't want to stop what he was doing.

Deciding not to press it, Jack went down the hallway to look into the garage. Outer door closed. Light off. Hiccup had left a mess on his work bench, but that was nothing new. Going back, he couldn't resist glancing over his friend's shoulder as he went over to the sliding door. He didn't manage to see it.

But once he had locked the sliding glass door (it was usually forgotten), Hiccup slid the book across the counter for him to see.

Jack looked over the design, figuring out pretty quickly what it was supposed to be.

"Have you gotten Merida's vote yet?" he asked.

"Merida voted against you, and we still let you in," Hiccup reminded, with a dry grin. "She voted against giving Eret a second chance, too."

Jack snickered. He wished he had been able to watch that whole thing progress. She had no doubt said things he would now love to tease her about.

"But, no, I haven't," Hiccup said. "Astrid hasn't said anything either, though."

"She will." Jack was sure about that.

When he looked back at Hiccup, he saw the all-too-familiar weight settle on his friend's shoulders. A weight Jack knew they were all trying not to let weigh them down.

"It's been less than a week," Jack said.

"But he's still out there," Hiccup said. "And planning something, obviously."

They tried not to use Pitchiner's name if they could avoid it. They usually all knew who "he" meant.

"We'll figure it out."

Hiccup snorted, running his hands over his face. "I'm so behind on everything. Pitch is just one more thing on the pile. Him, and all the others."

"You're not gonna figure it out tonight," Jack said with a yawn. He glanced over at the clock on the stove. 1:07 am. "Or this morning. Whatever you wanna call it."

Hiccup nodded, exhaling as he got off the barstool.

Flicking off the light over the bar, Jack turned towards the bedrooms. The easy part, since he just walked by the doors to make sure nothing was out of place. He could hear Hiccup's footsteps behind him.

The hall was quiet, and there were no lights coming from under the doors. His door was only a few feet from Hiccup's, so he glanced over.

"Get some sleep," he said, opening his door. "We'll work it out. We always do."

"Thanks," Hiccup said. "Good night."

Back in his room, Jack started closing down for the night, putting away his notes and essay. It would have to be finished later.

Once he had turned out the light, he glanced out his window. The clouds were still gathering, and now he could feel the atmosphere being manipulated. His powers gave him an awareness of the weather, and he felt every shift to it. When the weather patterns weren't natural, he could feel it in his core.

Elsa was the only other person in Burgess who could create a storm like this. But it was somehow different from her normal loss of control.

He didn't like that feeling. Especially with everything else going on right now.

But as he had told Hiccup: they weren't going to figure out anything tonight.

Needing a distraction from thoughts about Elsa, Pitch, and everyone else, he turned to the design Hiccup had shown him.

Stormfly.

It had a nice ring to it.


	12. No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

**EDIT 3/14/2016 – Fixed some typos. **

**In the interest of maintaining some sense of order… I'm going to delete the original version of the subsequent chapters, and I'll add the edited versions as they're updated. **

**I actually re-watched **_**Frozen**_** as research for the next couple chapters. Which was pure torture. And I decided… I'm just gonna roll my eyes, toss **_**Frozen**_** over the cliff, and do whatever works best for the story. **

_Chapter 12: No Good Deed Goes Unpunished_

Elsa's storm was pure defiance against what natural weather patterns _wanted_ to do. With his awareness of that, Jack would have had an easier time trying to sleep through a dragon fight than Elsa's silent battle with the earth itself. Which, as he knew from experience, was downright impossible.

Five months earlier, Hiccup had brought an injured Snafflefang into the stables, but the thing had started causing trouble. After a couple weeks, Toothless had taken it down. At three in the morning. During finals week. Of course.

When he finally managed to drift off (presumably because Elsa was finally asleep, weakening her hold on the weather), there were the nightmares to deal with. They were more bad dreams than a full on nightmares. Especially compared to some of his night visions.

They were enough to jolt him awake, though.

After the third or fourth time, Jack lay on his back, forearm draped over his eyes to block out the growing light through the window. Too many images, real and imagined, swirled through his head. Memories and fears colliding, and bleeding together until he was trying to untangle one from the other.

Finally, he was forced to admit that he wouldn't be getting back to sleep any time soon.

He looked over at the clock on his bedside table. Partially hidden behind Hans Westerguard's book. (He would be glad when he could burn the thing. He wasn't sure how, yet. In the moments when he had a thought to spare – or just didn't want to focus when trying to read it – he imagined ways to destroy it. Dragon fire seemed appropriate.)

5:47 am.

Rapunzel would be waking up in about 13 minutes.

Well, that was motivation for him to get out of bed. It had been a while since someone other than her had made breakfast. Giving her a break seemed like a good idea.

He didn't bother pulling on a tshirt as he left his room, footsteps all but silent on the carpeted floor. Old habits die hard.

Hazy pre-dawn light came through the eastern window, where light blue sky peeked through pink and silver clouds. It wasn't often Jack saw a sunrise… and he wasn't sure what the big deal was. The forest was a black silhouette beyond the white mist that hovered over the ground. A few of the early rising dragons had already come out from the stables, stretching their wings. Apparently "the early bird gets the worm" also applied to rabbits, deer, and other woodland creatures.

As he passed the sliding door, he glanced over out of habit. And sighed when he saw the green Terrible Terror sitting on the other side of the glass.

Without looking away from Jack, the small dragon's forked tongue flicked out to lick its bulbous yellow eye.

Jack considered leaving the thing out there. No one would have to know. He could pretend he hadn't noticed him sitting there. It would save him the annoyance.

But someone would let him in eventually. And the dragon would torment him even more than usual in revenge.

So Jack went over and opened the sliding door just enough to let Pascal slip inside.

"Happy?"

The dragon looked up at him. With the same reluctant tolerance that Jack knew was on his own face.

"You are so lucky Rapunzel loves you," he muttered. Turning away from Pascal, he continued to the kitchen.

Pancakes, he decided. If he was going to deal with Elsa, on less than five hours of sleep, he needed chocolate chip and blueberry pancakes.

There was only one bag of chocolate chips in the freezer, and Rapunzel probably had plans for them. As he grabbed the yellow bag, he made a mental note to pick more up while he was in the city.

Movement from the corner of his eye made him look over.

"Get down from there," he muttered, lunging towards the breakfast bar. He grabbed Pascal, just before the dragon snatched a pear from the fruit bowl. Without ceremony, he tossed the dragon over the counter. If he was satisfied by the thing's indignant squawk, he would never admit it.

He got the batter mixed, and was adding the blueberries, when he heard footsteps coming from the hallway. The tingling at the back of his neck sent a shiver down his spine as his powers receded.

"Hey, Pascal," she cooed, crouching down to pick up the dragon that all but pranced over to her. With practiced ease, she positioned Pascal in her arms so she wasn't being poked by his spines.

It didn't matter that he was tired. Or that Pascal looked downright smug in her arms. Or even that he had to deal with Elsa later. When he saw Rapunzel, the corner of his mouth pulled up in a grin.

"Good morning."

"Good morning," she said, her smile putting the early morning sun to shame. She was already dressed, a long sleeved purple shirt over a pair of grey skinny jeans, and a pair of brown slouch boots. "You're up early."

Jack shrugged, hoping she wouldn't think too much of it.

"Nightmares?" she asked, coming into the kitchen.

"Nothing awful," he said, honestly. "Just the weather."

"Oh." The single word was almost hard, and he looked over to see her dangerously close to frown as she scratched Pascal's scaly jaw.

Before he could say anything, she saw the batter he was pouring onto the hot skillet.

"You're using the chocolate chips? I was going to make cookies tonight."

"I'll buy you more."

Rapunzel hummed. Not quite in satisfaction, though Jack could tell the offering would suffice.

He looked over at her with a grin, and their eyes met.

_You know I love you, right?_

The words were almost out of his mouth before he could stop them. Biting the confession back, he swallowed.

They would be easy to say. Six words. A single breath.

"What's wrong?" Rapunzel asked.

Jack shook his head, looking back at the pancakes on the skillet. Grabbing the spatula, he set about flipping them. It needed to be done. And he needed to do something with his hands. "Sorry."

"For what?" She looked at him curiously.

Sometimes he wished she had a clue what she did to him. Just so she would understand, and wouldn't look at him like that. When her expression was so curious and open, promising to understand whatever he said… it was almost impossible not to just tell her.

It was why he was standing in the Haddock kitchen. Because he hadn't been able to stop himself from opening up to her. Even when they were supposed to be fighting each other, he had let her get under his defenses. He had looked into her eyes, and his heart had started to come spilling out of his throat.

Sometimes, he dared to hope.

But he pushed those hopes down. Because hope wasn't a guarantee of anything. And he didn't like the thought of rejection. Especially today, when he still had to face Elsa. Having Rapunzel turn him down would not help that. The fact she would try so hard to do so without hurting his feelings would just make it that much more painful.

No. Not today. If he ever told her, it wasn't going to be today.

"Will you get the syrup out?" he asked.

She looked momentarily confused, but nodded, and opened the door of the fridge.

He was trying to think of something safe to say. Something that would dissipate the awkward tension in the air. Even as part of his mind chastised him for not just _saying_ it. The part that didn't buy any of his reasons, and accused him of cowardice.

Of course, if he said it, there would probably be a very different kind of tension in the air.

Because it was Rapunzel. And what were the odds she could love someone like him? She knew his past, and everything he had done, even better than Hiccup did.

"Jack." She rested a hand on his suddenly tense forearm, her touch warm and gentle. It sent an electric jolt up his arm.

He looked over, meeting her gaze reluctantly.

"Are you okay?"

How was he supposed to answer that?

Thankfully, he was spared when footsteps caused them both to jerk back. He remembered suddenly that he was cooking, and removed the pancakes from the skillet. Just in time.

"Good morning, Astrid," Rapunzel said, recovering with admirable speed. "How did you sleep?"

"Great, actually," Astrid said.

Well, at least that made one of them.

Jack glanced over his shoulder, at once annoyed and grateful for her arrival. (_Grateful,_ the practical part of his mind decided.) He nodded a greeting, then turned his attention to pouring the next batch of pancakes. There were five people eating – not counting Pascal, who would take as much as he could get – so it would be pretty much impossible to make too many.

"I'll make some eggs," Rapunzel said, touching his arm again lightly before opening the fridge again.

"Can I help?" Astrid asked.

"We've got it," she said with a smile. And the way she said "we" make Jack more than a little pleased. "Do you want to wash your clothes from yesterday?"

"I'll stop at my apartment and change," Astrid said. "I have to pick up my books."

Books. Jack scowled, remembering that he had class that day. Dealing with Elsa, and her temper tantrum, would have to wait until after that was done.

"Can I borrow your car?" he asked Rapunzel.

"Don't you have one?" Astrid asked.

"I have a motorcycle," Jack said. "I _had_ a car. Until a dragon stepped on it last time Drago attacked the city." He hadn't yet summed up the motivation to go buy a new one. There were too many other things he would rather spend his energy on.

"I have my pottery class," Rapunzel said. "But I can probably get a ride with Hiccup."

"I can give you a ride," Astrid volunteered. She seemed to be falling right into their routine without even realizing it.

"That would work," Rapunzel said, smiling again. "Thank you. Good morning, Hiccup."

Jack looked over to see Hiccup and Toothless coming through the archway.

"Morning," Hiccup said, rubbing his eyes.

"Can I get a ride home with you tonight?" Rapunzel asked. "Jack needs to use my car."

Hiccup looked over at him. "Are you gonna talk to Elsa?"

Jack grunted, trying not to scowl too much as he nodded and removed the second batch of pancakes from the skillet.

Hiccup turned back to Rapunzel as he took a seat on the stool next to Astrid. "Meet me in the art lab when you're done with class."

#

By the time Jack got out of his statistics class, and ate his lunch of leftover lasagna, the clouds were thick and heavy in the atmosphere. It would be snowing within half an hour, if he guessed right.

Well, in good news, maybe the ski mountain would open early.

He changed into his uniform in the backroom of the garage behind Gobber's shop, and left Rapunzel's car in the back lot as he flew downtown. The Arendelle penthouse apartment was clear on the other side of Burgess, near the lakeshore. Amazing view. But always out of his way.

How awful was it that he kept hoping for an attack so he could get out of this?

But there was never a super villain around when you actually wanted one. No kids running into the street. No cats stuck in trees. The one time everyone decided to behave. What memo had he missed?

Within ten minutes he reached the prestigious skyscraper.

As he landed on the roof, his eyes landed on what had once been Obsidian Tower.

Lunanoff Corporation's remodel was finally complete, so it was no longer a black monstrosity cutting through the Burgess City skyline. The sharp edges were gone, and it was silver now, rather than black. But the sight of it was still a bad reminder. Against his will, his eyes turned towards the hills that surrounded Burgess. Pitchiner Manor wasn't visible. But he knew where it was.

He took a deep, shuddering breath as he forced himself to type the code into the keypad on the door.

When this was done, he could go home and watch a movie. Pretend he wasn't totally in love with Rapunzel. Or torment Merida. He hadn't pranked her in a while, and that was a crime in its own right. She was so much fun to torment. Yeah, that would be his plan. He just had to survive the spoiled brat, and he could give Merida a hard time.

Provided she didn't bring Eret around for dinner. Giving her a hard time when the former dragon trapper was around was usually not a good idea.

That annoying, sensible, part of his mind chided him as he descended the stairs from the roof, past the top floor of control panels and random odds and ends. The only difference between Elsa and himself was that she was still stuck in her prison. Of course, he had gotten out even before Pitch was gone. She didn't have anyone keeping her locked away. Not anymore.

That was his biggest frustration. All she had to do was open the door. She even had a sister trying desperately to help her, despite everything Elsa had done to her. But she kept herself locked away, in the delusional belief that she was protecting herself, and everyone else.

He reached the door of the penthouse, braced himself, and knocked.

The door swung open under his touch.

A familiar warning hummed in the back of his skull as he looked through the open doorway. He couldn't pin down exactly what it was that set him on edge. Only that something did. There was a whisper at the back of his mind – a thread of memory too dusty to come forward on its own. One he didn't have the time, or inclination, to follow. Not at that moment.

Not when he could feel the cold wafting over him from inside the penthouse. With it came a smell he couldn't describe, but was familiar with.

Elsa's ice.

Let Merida say all she wanted that ice didn't have a smell. But the flat tang, vaguely metallic, with a sharp undertone he couldn't compare to anything else, was distinct. But if you threw solitude and fear into a blender with ice, garnished with broken glass and cold, hard, cash, that was what Elsa's powers smelled like.

Jack stepped over the threshold, onto the ice that covered the dark stained, hardwood floor. Layers upon layers of ice. Her powers had surged multiple times in the past day or two. But she had managed to keep it contained in her penthouse. That was… an improvement. Not a phrase he got to use with Elsa very often. As long as he had known her, it had seemed as if her refusal to gain mastery of her powers just made it harder for her to control them.

To his left, the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city were frosted at the edges. Beyond, the clouds had completely obscured the blue sky.

Maybe it was just that voice that continued to whisper in the back of his mind, but the lack of snow felt like a warning.

He looked around the sparsely furnished living room. Totally impersonal, probably the work of an interior designer to make it modern, and blatantly rich at the same time.

Around him, the air was cold enough to be uncomfortable for him – somewhere in the negative double digits. But the shattered glass in the picture frames that lined the walls told him he had missed the worst of it. Whatever had set Elsa off had caused her powers to spike so suddenly, her surroundings had barely been able to handle the rapid change in temperature.

The broken vase on the floor, which had sat on the end table by the boxy, uncomfortable looking couch, hadn't been broken by the cold, though. It had been swept off the table, and now lay in pieces.

No loss to society, in his opinion. It had been one of those ugly, ancient things that cost a fortune, and no one really liked, but pretended they did because they thought it made them look intelligent.

Again, the warning hummed. Now strong enough to travel down his spine.

Self-preservation told him that the smart thing to do – the _safe_ thing – was to turn around and leave. Walk out the door, never look back. And he would have… if it weren't for a sense of responsibility he had developed without wanting to.

When he inhaled, just under the deadly cocktail of Elsa's powers, there was another smell. Weak. But present. And familiar. His brain caught it more than his nose. Hazy images stirred at the back of his mind.

The smart thing to do would be to get out. His brain was trying to dredge up those memories, while at the same time trying to lock them away in that part of his psyche where he stored things he didn't want to deal with.

But, as he had told Astrid: he was pretty sure they were all crazy.

And he did owe Hiccup. Who had all but ordered him to go through with this.

"Elsa?" he called. Immediately wishing he hadn't made a sound.

He could feel her nearby. His powers thrummed uncomfortably. Like a violin played by a child with no idea how to handle the strings.

But aside from the ice and destruction, there was no visual sign of her.

He walked around the couch, heading for the spiral staircase that lead up to the bedrooms. Rooms that were now abandoned, save for Elsa's. Anna had moved out as soon as she had turned eighteen, leaving Elsa alone with the ghosts. Jack didn't blame her. Not after everything she had been through.

She had tried to convince her sister to come with her. To leave the past behind. But Elsa had refused.

Before he reached the stairway, a hardback book on the iced floor caught his eye. Crouching down, he angled his head so he could see through the air bubbles in the ice. Confirming what he had thought it was.

Hans Westerguard's book.

That was an explanation.

If only he didn't feel like he was missing something.

He heard her footsteps – heels hollow on the iced over floor – and looked up just as she came up to the railing on the second floor.

"Jack?"

There it was again. That feeling that something was off.

Something was cracked and fractured. He just couldn't figure out what it was.

She looked the same way she usually did. A dark blue-green button up blouse over a black pencil skirt, pale blonde hair pulled back in a bun. And her signature accessory of a haunted, woe-is-me expression. (He tried to have sympathy for her. He really did. It just didn't always work.)

She didn't meet his eyes.

"What are you doing here?"

"Checking on you," he said, standing up slowly. Carefully. "The door was open."

He thought she paled, but couldn't be sure.

"I'm fine," she said. Too quickly.

"Fine?" He snorted, pointing out the window, to the heavy clouds descending over the city. It pulled at him. Messing with his thoughts the same way her powers messed with the weather. And with each passing second, it was getting worse. "That's not 'fine'."

"I don't need your help," she said. Still refusing to look at him. Which was new. The last few times he'd seen her, he had wished she would _stop_ looking at him.

Jack frowned, searching her face. Trying to remember the last time she had rejected his help. The first few times, yeah. But it had been a while. The last few times, she had wanted more than his help. That was why he didn't want to deal with her.

"Right," he muttered. "Then do you want to do something about that?"

He gestured out at the storm. This time, she definitely blanched.

Something was off. The sense was undeniable. But whatever piece was out of place, he still couldn't figure out what it was.

"I—I can't."

"That's why I'm trying to help."

A shadow passed across the front of his mind. The all-too-familiar presence of a Nightmare. Its attention wasn't on him – there was no probing, no twisting of his thoughts, no pulling at his weaknesses.

Elsa's eyes widened, and Jack knew exactly where the Nightmare's attention was. He had seen that panicked expression on his teammates. He surged forward, calling on his powers as he braced for a fight.

But he still didn't anticipate the blow.

He expected a Nightmare. That it would appear in the living room to attack him. Or start scraping around in his mind.

He wasn't expecting the blast of ice that hit him solidly in the chest. Slammed him so hard he was knocked off his feet.

Pain shot through his side as he hit the iced floor, sliding a few more feet across the slick surface.

He didn't waste time getting his feet back under him. Instead, he lifted off, hovering in the air so he was level with Elsa. Her hand was still raised from the attack, eyes wide as she stared at him.

"_What was that?"_ he asked, struggling to hold onto his temper. To ignore that every instinct screamed to go into attack mode. He wasn't a peace keeper. That was Hiccup's job. Jack was a fighter.

This was the first time she had ever deliberately attacked him.

Elsa's shoulders rose and fell, breathing heavily. Her mouth opened. As if to answer.

Before she could, her eyes flashed with terror. Then hardened with determination.

That was all the warning he got.

Jack got his hands up just in time to stop the blast of hoarfrost flying towards him. He grabbed it with his mind. The momentum back lashed, pushing him back in midair. But he still wrested control of it. Grunting with effort, he sent the frost back towards Elsa.

She gasped in surprise, shying away so the blast hit her side, and the back of her shoulder.

"Fight it!" he said. If the Nightmare was making her lash out, she was the only one who could fight its presence in her mind.

"No!" She held up a hand, stumbling as she stood up straight.

"I'm trying to help!" he said, anger creeping into his voice. Truth be told, he really didn't like being attacked. It was one of the things that set him off.

"Stop acting like you care!"

The ice across the floor, and up the walls, shuddered as it cracked.

That couldn't be good, Jack decided. Even before spikes jutted out of the ice. He was very glad he was already in the air. An ice spike through the foot was the last thing he wanted to deal with today.

Ice continued to spread, the temperature sinking further. Every exhale was visible as a puff of steam from his mouth. It had been a long, long time since the air around him had been colder than his breath. Not since…

Not since the night of the accident.

He remembered, with brutal clarity, lying in a snow bank as his body went numb. Exhaling, and watching the thin wisp of steam rise up to a sky full of stars. As he lay there, he had made his peace with dying. As much as a twelve year old could, anyway.

Above him, the full moon had been so big and bright… he had looked at it, convinced he saw a smile in the craters on the surface.

He had been aware of the change happening to his body. Vaguely. Been aware that the pain was still there, but the cold seemed to fade. He had figured that was death.

Death would have been sweet.

When he looked back at the mess his life had become since then. Everything he had been through. Everything he had endured. Why couldn't he have died? Why had his body, rather than giving into blood loss and hypothermia, begun to mutate? Dragging his temperature down. Triggering a dormant gene that had turned him into…

"_Stop!" _He screamed, slashing a hand through the hair. Trying to sever the phantom touch on his mind that coaxed the memories out. Not just the night of the crash. Everything that had come after. The training. The manipulation. The pain… _"STOP IT!"_

He scrambled for a memory that wasn't tainted with shadows. That the Nightmare couldn't twist.

Light. Gold. Green eyes. A smile that put the sun to shame.

It was a flawed life line. Tainted with his own self-doubt. But it was enough for him to break out of the memories.

Just as the penthouse around him started to creak and groan.

Jack had broken enough steel beams to know that sound. (Vaguely, he wondered if the Burgess Historical Society still wanted to sue him for that old bridge…) If Elsa kept this up, the skyscraper would crack and collapse.

Before he could figure out a good response, the storm nagged at his attention. He would have brushed it off, as he had all day. If the nagging hadn't been accompanied by a flash of lightning that reflected off the ice in the room. A crack of thunder, immediately after. So loud, Jack felt it vibrate in his sternum.

He looked out the window, just as the sleeting snow started.

Thunder snow. The name came back from the meteorology classes Pitch had put him through.

Several times, he had tried to create thunder snow – just because it had sounded cool when he read about it in one of the meteorology books Pitchiner had made him read.. And he was curious what his powers would do in that kind of environment. All attempts had resulted in failure.

The only time he had created a storm like this was when he hadn't bee trying. He had reached a place mentally where anger and despair had blurred into one, and manifested as a raging storm of thunder and snow.

He turned back to Elsa. In time to watch her take a deep, shuddering breath. She looked down at her hands, and he started to move closer. Hoping to see some sign of regret. Not because she had hurt him – but because it was so unlike her.

Instead, her expression hardened.

The next blast hit his chest dead center. Too fast for him to react. Throwing him backwards.

The plate glass windows were bulletproof. Normally, they would have held up under his impact. But the cold had compromised the molecular integrity of the glass.

It shattered on, and his body sailed through.

A shard of glass stroked his right cheek with a razor sharp edge. He grimaced as it cut from his cheekbone, down to his jaw. Heat bloomed in tandem with the pain.

Pain threw him off. Every muscle in his body strained as he fought to regain control of his flight before he crashed into the skyscraper across the street. (Been there. Done that. Not today, thanks.)

Shards of glass rained down, towards the sidewalk. Where people either ran back and forth trying to get away, or had stopped to stare.

His mind raced. Trying to figure out the best way to make sure no one got hurt.

He swept a hand out, praying that it would work. A slab of ice spread from the side of the building, extending over the sidewalk, and the pedestrians. Most of the glass landed harmlessly on the ice. A few hit the ground, but didn't do any damage.

He looked back toward the gaping hole in the penthouse.

Jagged shards of glass rimmed it like fangs in a maw. Ready to devour anything that got too close. That was an image that would haunt his nightmares.

Below, he could hear people shouting. Cars honking as traffic ground to a halt. Why couldn't they just keep moving? Or better yet, clear the area. That would be the sane thing to do. Even he knew that. But no. They had to stop and stare.

It was amazing humanity had lasted this long.

He turned back towards the penthouse, calculating what to do next. Elsa wouldn't come out – wouldn't reveal herself.

So he had thought.

Elsa created a set of several steps over the broken glass, up to the opening.

Jack felt his heart sink as their eyes met.

The rules had changed. And now he had no idea what they were.


	13. Isolfr

**EDITED 3/22/16 – Removed some typos, cleaned up some wording. I really wish at-death's-door Jack wasn't so much fun to write… **

**Naming this chapter after Isolfr was a bit of a stretch. But my followers on tumblr were so enthusiastic about a possible cameo from this sassy wolf, it seemed appropriate.**

_Chapter 13: Isolfr_

"The strange weather patterns persist," the weatherman said, looking more than a little stressed. "Since this storm came out of nowhere, we have no indication of how long it will last."

"I may not be a meteorologist, but even I know that storms don't come out of nowhere," one of the anchors said, her tone chastising.

Astrid rolled her eyes. The anchor must be new to Burgess if she expected an explanation for a weather phenomenon. Especially for a snow storm.

Not that it had actually started to snow yet. Which seemed strange, considering it had been almost twenty-four hours since the clouds had started to gather. Astrid might not know much about weather, but even she suspected that wasn't normal.

As it was, she hoped the lack of snow was a good sign.

The others hadn't seemed too concerned about Jack's errand. They acted as if it was more of an annoyance than anything.

Maybe it was just because she was new to this world of superheroes, and watching her friends go off into fights. But there was a feeling of unease she couldn't seem to shake. Which was part of why she had turned the news on as soon as she had gotten back to her apartment.

The weatherman looked as though he wanted to say something to the anchor. But stopped himself just in time.

"So far the storm hasn't moved from over the county – it remains centered near the harbor," he went on, as though he hadn't been interrupted. "By all indications, it should have started to snow by now, but there's been almost no change. All we can do it wait it out."

"But that doesn't make sense," the anchor said. Clearly she wasn't willing to let it go. "There must be an explanation."

The weatherman looked at the camera with glassy eyes. "I don't know, Rachel. Maybe we're doomed."

Astrid snorted, barely biting back a laugh as the camera showed Rachel's startled expression. Though the other two anchors seemed just as entertained by the whole thing as. (Rachel much not be popular down at the station.)

After an awkward moment, they transitioned into a story about one of the local high schools. Astrid lost interest, and turned her attention to her homework.

Worry made it hard to focus, though. Not that she was good at focusing, even on her best days. Not on her homework, anyway.

She wasn't used to worrying about people, which made it all the more difficult. Well, she worried about Anders. But that was different. That she could relegate to a background of her mind. And she didn't know when he was going into a dangerous situation. Now she was hyper aware of it.

Eventually she reached – if not a level of concentration – a rhythm that kept her attention on work, rather than worry.

Until the flash of lightning caused her head to jerk up.

Out of habit, she counted seconds. Something she had done since she was a child.

Seven seconds later the crack of thunder rolled over the city. The sound waves vibrated through her sternum. Rattling her to her core.

Seven miles.

The storm was barely seven miles from her apartment.

When she looked back to the TV, she expected them to cut to live footage of a fight. If lightning was striking downtown, something news worthy had to be going on there. A change in the weather had to mean a change in the situation.

Instead, they cut to the weatherman, who was considerably more confident this time around.

"What we're experiencing is a winter thunderstorm – or thunder snow, as some call it. It's rare, but not unheard of. And hardly unique to Burgess. In our area, it's caused by cold air passing over relatively warm water, pushing upward—"

Astrid rolled her eyes, not bothering to pay attention to his explanation about cloud levels, temperature, and wind pressure. If she had the patience for that, she wouldn't be a phys-ed major.

Just as she was about to try and get back to homework, Rachel cut the weatherman off. (If she got any pleasure out of doing so, it didn't show.)

"Sorry, Steve, but we've just received word that Jack Frost, of the Big 4, is currently involved in a fight down on the harbor steps. We take you now to where Roxanne Ritchie is live on the scene."

For a moment, Astrid felt smug that she had been right. Only for a moment. Before she registered what was happening on the screen.

The camera was on the reporter, too far from the fight happening behind her to really make out what was happening. But that was still what Astrid's attention fixed on.

The figure that was constantly moving had to be Jack. One moment he was running, the next he slid across a slick of ice like a baseball player sliding home. He was back on his feet in less time than it took her heart to beat. All while dodging sprays of ice, without missing a beat. As easily as if he were showing off in the Haddock kitchen.

Elsa – at least, Astrid guessed his opponent was Elsa – lacked any of Jack's quick fluidity. She barely moved at all, save twisting to aim her blows at her ever-moving target. But she had a kind of desperate aggression that was making up for her obvious lack of skill.

"According to eye witnesses, less than ten minutes ago Jack Frost crashed through the penthouse window of the Arendelle Tower," Roxanne was saying. "His opponent is believed to be reclusive heiress Elsa Arendelle. So far this is no indication as to what the fight is about, though—"

The reporter let out a cry of surprise as Elsa slipped on the ice covered ground, and her aim was thrown wide – heading right towards the reporter. Astrid gasped. But the sound barely left her throat before Jack appeared between Roxanne and the spray of ice. His hands shot out to catch it, and Astrid saw him grimace as he wrested mental control of the ice. He shoved at the air, and the ice was thrown out over the lake. It dissipated without causing any harm.

It was easy to see that Jack was on the defense – his movements evasive.

"What are you doing?" Astrid whispered, leaning forward on the couch. In the past few days, she had watched enough footage of the Big 4 to know that this wasn't his usual style. Usually, he was the most aggressive of the 4 (except for maybe Toothless, but that was a different category all together). So why was he all but running now?

Elsa took a step forward, and faltered.

Maybe that was Jack's plan: to wear her out.

Astrid exhaled in frustration as she leaned back, unable to tear her eyes from the screen. Her foot twitched, tapping an agitated tattoo in the air.

This was why she hated spectator sports. Energy built up in her system as her brain told that she should be _doing_ something. Not just sitting on the couch, squeezing the TV remote until her knuckles turned white.

Where were the others?

Right. They were all in class.

The attacks were slowing. Elsa was stating to struggle to create the blasts. The way her shoulders were hunched, she was probably breathing hard.

Good.

The next blast didn't even deserve the name. A small flurry of ice shimmering in the air, but falling short of Jack. Elsa tried to take a step, but her body swayed dangerously.

When she didn't recover after a couple seconds, Jack took a careful step towards her. As if approaching an injured animal. Elsa looked over at him, hands clenched over her chest, but didn't respond.

He took a few more steps. Holdings his hands up, palm out.

A few more steps.

Elsa tried to back away. But she swayed again, and this time fell to her knees on the ice. Almost immediately, the slushy snow falling around them stopped, and the hazy fog started to thin.

Another step.

A hand held out.

Jack said something, but he was still too far for the camera to pick up more than the timbre of his voice.

For a second, it looked as though Elsa would accept his help. Astrid exhaled, relaxing as she inhaled fresh oxygen. Maybe this would be over in a matter of minutes, and all her worry had been wasted.

For a single, life changing second.

It happened so fast, she could barely register _what_ had happened.

Elsa screamed. Flung her hands out again. And this time, the blast hit Jack square in the chest. The force knocked him off his feet.

He hit the ground hard enough to make Astrid's stomach clench in sympathy. And he was now close enough to the camera that when he spat, she saw the blood hit the ice. Saw his expression twist with anger. Glaring at Elsa as he wiped blood from his chin.

Whatever had held him back before was now gone.

He looked at the blood on the back of his glove for a moment.

In a lightning fast motion he twisted his hand, slamming his palm towards Elsa.

Her arms flew up to cover her face as the spray of hoar frost pushed her backwards across the ice on her knees.

When it passed, she shook off the frost that clung to her hair, and her dark purple skirt suit. Other than that, it didn't seem to have any affect.

Slowly she stood up, kicking off a pair of stiletto heels as she did so. No wonder she had stumbled.

Jack was back on his feet first. Right hand already glowing at his side as he lunged towards Elsa.

Her arms flew up again – this time with a very different affect. Spikes of ice jutted up from the ground in a barricade around the young woman.

One of them piercing right through Jack's stomach.

#

Surprise did a pretty good job of dulling the pain. For the first few seconds, at least. Until his brain registered that he had just been impaled. That was when the pain blossomed in his side. Building up in intensity as his nerves found their voices and started screaming.

Hot.

He was always surprised by how hot his blood ran. If his body was so cold, shouldn't his blood be cold, too? It didn't make sense, no matter how he tried to figure out.

Of course, he usually only tried to figure it out at moments like this. When he had more important things to worry about.

Like the fact he didn't have much time before he bled out.

Elsa stared as he stepped back, off the ice spike. Her eyes wide with horror.

Jack pressed a hand to his side. Trying to staunch the blood that flowed through his fingers. He was going to need new gloves. Probably a new jacket. Hiccup and Rapunzel wouldn't be happy about that. Not when they were both so busy with so many projects.

Oh. He was supposed to pick up chocolate chips for Rapunzel. That might be a little difficult…

Strange the things you thought about when you were staring death in the face.

Or maybe he was trying to avoid its gaze.

Priorities.

Not that he had ever been good at those.

Staunching the blood wouldn't do much good. Not when he could feel it running down from the hole in his back as fast as it did from his front.

His other hand clenched on the ice. Bracing him up. When had he fallen back to the ground?

Breathing was hard. Thinking hurt.

No. Wait. Other way around. Breathing hurt. Thinking was hard.

Actually, thinking kind of hurt too…

His brain kept trying to focus on the fact he had been stabbed. Repeating the fact again, and again, and again, like a neon marquee circling around his brain. When what he _wanted_ his brain to do was analyze the situation. To figure out the best way out.

Sirens.

The sirens cut through every other thought cluttering his mind. Stark. Annoying. The last thing he needed at that moment.

Typical.

Now that they weren't moving, throwing ice around, the police on the scene were shouting at each other as they closed in. Commanding people to step back from the barricade. Or for Jack and Elsa to stand down and surrender. Or something equally ridiculous. Jack was probably glad he couldn't make out the words.

But he could make out the fear in Elsa's expression as she turned towards the approaching police. Because he knew what happened when Elsa was afraid. So his brain knew that was something worth paying attention to. Which was why he saw clearly her hand rise, trembling, as if in slow motion.

Saw the glow of her powers.

Why couldn't the police stay out of things they should know they couldn't handle?

"No." It came out as a hoarse whisper.

Too late anyway.

His heart sank as snow swirled in front of her. Expending as it took shape and solidified.

"No," he repeated. Not sure if it was at her, or himself. Trying to stop himself from doing something stupid.

Either way, he was too late.

Again.

His hand had already clenched. Some part of his brain giving commands he hadn't consciously authorized. He watched the frost fly across the space between them. Twisting and turning, taking shape as it flew towards Elsa and the snow creature she was creating. Until Jack was watching a wolf run across the ice.

Well, there went his last reserves of energy.

His arm trembled, all his energy pulled into keeping the wolf animated as it ran around Elsa's creature. Drawing its attention away from the police and bystanders it had been lumbering towards.

His arm gave out. Even as he hit the ground, his eyes stayed fixed on the wolf.

Isolfr, as Rapunzel had named it. One night when they were all too tired to think straight, but too wound up to sleep. She had declared the wolf needed a name, and chosen Isolfr.

It had stuck.

He forced himself to keep his eyes open. Trained on the fight. Isolfr moved only by mental command – commands that took all his focus. Which was hard enough when blood loss wasn't making him dizzy.

He must have gotten a cut on his forehead without noticing, because he felt hot liquid running down the side of his face.

Isolfr dodged the creature's bludgeon like fists as the thing tried to crush him.

There were advantages to fighting a snow monster, though. Since it wasn't alive, the team's "no kill policy" didn't apply. So Jack didn't have to hold back.

As soon as there was an opening, Isolfr jumped up and sank his fangs into the monster's throat. Teeth and claws went to work, biting and scratching away chunks of snow. Within moments, an arm fell to the ground and became nothing but a pile of snow.

The head soon followed.

Just like Isolfr, the creature was controlled by thought. Even without its head, its remaining arm continued trying to swipe at Isolfr. But the wolf had Jack's agility, jumping onto the creature's back and going to work at the remaining shoulder.

Elsa screamed in frustration as the second arm fell.

Isolfr jumped down even as Elsa let go of her mental hold on the creature and it fell apart. The wolf lunged towards Elsa. She sent a flurry towards the wolf. Who just dodged, and kept running towards her.

Even as he directed the wolf, a stray thought asked what exactly he was going to do with her. He was in no situation to detain her, and there were too many cops… everywhere. In a voice that sounded obnoxiously like Merida's, his own brain informed him that he really hadn't thought this through. (He really hated that this was a regular occurrence.)

While he tried to process – to find a way out – his thoughts were cut off by the roar of an engine, harmonized by a chorus of screams.

_What now?_

He looked back over his shoulder in time to watch a cluster of bystanders jump out of the way of a black motorcycle. The rider didn't slow at the police barricade, kicking aside one of the partitions as she passed it. Then came to a screaming stop in front of him.

"Get on!" she said, loud enough to be heard through the helmet that covered her face.

She held a gloved hand out to help him.

Oh, she was going to fit right in.

Jack reached out and grabbed her hand. As she hauled him onto the back of the motorcycle, he helped as much as his trembling legs would allow. He had just enough sense to press a hand over the bike license plate, frosting it to obscure the numbers.

"Go!"

Astrid gave a jerking nod and took off the way she had come. Past people that exclaimed indignantly as they jumped out of the way. Swinging between two cop cars that tried to cut them off.

As soon as they turned down the next street, Jack tapped her shoulder and pointed up to the one, two… three different helicopters. Two news, one police.

Losing them was just as important as losing the police that would be on their tail in a matter of seconds. He pointed again, this time to their right, down the next ally. She turned just in time. Causing several car horns to blast as they cut through oncoming traffic.

To her credit, Astrid didn't hesitate. Jack continued to point down side streets, guiding them in a circumvent route around the fringes of downtown. Trying to keep his thoughts straight. To focus on the layout of the city, rather than to calculate how much blood he had already lost. How much time he had.

They were almost halfway to the garage when they finally lost the third chopper.

The police were long gone.

He exhaled in relief when they came in sight of the alley that ran behind Gobber's shop. Or rather, behind the shed at the back of Gobber's lot. Just as he pointed down the alley, the last of his strength gave out, and he sagged against Astrid's back.

He was slipping in and out of consciousness. It felt as though minutes passed before Astrid pulled to a stop, though he knew it could only have been seconds. Then he was vaguely aware of being hauled off the bike by a pair of strong arms.

"Let's get him inside," Eret said. His voice was distant, though Jack knew he had to be close. There were only a few people in their circle who could carry him that easily.

"How—" Astrid started.

"I saw the news," Eret said. "Close the door."

Jack was vaguely aware of the temperature around him growing warmer as they stepped into what he knew (rather than saw) was the backroom of Gobber's shed.

"We—" He grunted in pain as his injuries were jarred. "We've gotta stop meeting like this, Eretson."

"Bleeding out, and you've still got that smart mouth. At least there's no carpet for you to bleed on. I still don't know how I'll explain that to my landlord."

Jack snickered. Or at least, tried to. He had never realized that a snicker contracted his stomach muscles. Not until a flash of pain shot through his abdomen. "Ow."

Blackness was spreading across his brain, blurring out the few, fragmented thoughts that still hung around.

"Sorry for the carpet," he murmured. He couldn't remember if he had ever apologized for that… It had been… What? Two years, almost? If he hadn't apologized, there was something wrong with him. His mind's eye filled with the image of the bloodstain on the carpet in Eret's apartment. Where he had collapsed just inside the door.

"You can make it up to me by staying alive until Rapunzel gets here."

"She's in her pottery class," Jack said, coughing. His mouth filled with the metallic taste of yet more blood. He coughed again, spitting blood onto the concrete floor.

"If you think she doesn't check her phone in class, you don't know Rapunzel," Eret countered. "Astrid, hand me those bandages."

Still, all Jack could see was that bloodstain.

Had that been worse than this?

He couldn't remember.

_"Jack."_

Couldn't remember…

_"Jack." _

…couldn't…

_"Jackson." _


	14. Bloodstains

Chapter 20: Blood Stains

A dark blue rug, with golden yellow markings. Awkwardly placed just inside the door of a one room apartment, in a rundown apartment complex. Over a dark brown blood stain on the off white carpet. Well, the carpet was closer to brown. But ten or fifteen years ago, when it had first been installed, it had probably been whitish.

Whitish. Was that a word? Never mind that most people didn't seem to care what words or real, and which just worked for the moment.

English was such an annoying language. So many gaps. So many things that couldn't be described. That should have been given names, but hadn't. Even when they existed in other languages.

Only one word for snow.

Eskimos had 20. Or 50. Or something like that. Different words for snow on the ground, falling snow, drifting snow.

Jack had learned them. Years ago. In the manor. He couldn't remember them, though.

That was annoying.

He had known them.

Hadn't he?

...he was pretty sure he had.

No. He hadn't.

He had tried to.

Sitting on his bed in Pitchiner Manor. He'd had his laptop on. Bored, because he was on restriction. Again. So he had decided to look up the Eskimo words for snow. Before he could do more than skim the first few Google results, Emily Jane had come in and demanded... something. She was always demanding things. A trait she had gotten from her father.

Demanding he go somewhere with her. Demanding he help her with something. Jack had learned to go with it. Especially since she had a really annoying habit of pulling his ear when he didn't.

Now she was the CEO of a multi-billion dollar, international cosmetics company. To the surprise of… absolutely no one.

Emily Jane Pitchiner.

Sera-Whatever-She-Called-Herself-Now.

That was why the carpet had been stained in the first place.

Pitchiner had always been abusive emotionally, and mentally. But that abuse hadn't always been physical. Not until his carefully constructed empire had started falling apart.

Not until Jack had started failing because of a few children running around in costumes.

"They do have a dragon" had just gotten him another blow to his jaw. So hard his lip had split, and his neck had hurt for days afterward.

Sera Jane—

…No.

Emily Jane.

Emily Jane had been the one to help treat his cuts and bruises. Her father never touched her, of course. She was his precious daughter, no matter what she did. (And she did plenty.)

But she had decided to leave.

If he was honest, he couldn't blame her. Not really.

"Whatever my father is trying to turn himself into, I'm not staying here to find out what it is," she had said one night, while spreading ointment over the bruises on his left forearm. Bruises in the shape of a long fingered hand. "You should do the same."

"And go where?"

Emily Jane hadn't even had her own plan at that time, so she hadn't had an answer for him. Her lips, painted bright red, had pursed as she finished tending the bruise. She had left his room a few minutes later without saying another word.

Once the door closed behind her, Jack had flexed his hand. Testing the range of motion. What movements hurt. Which didn't. (Not many.)

He had hoped that would be the last time she talked about leaving. Not because he blamed her for wanting to leave. But because she was all he had at that point. She could be annoying - almost cruel at times - but she was still the closest thing he had to a friend. (Pathetic. That was pathetic.)

He had collapsed inside the door, because she left. Because...

No. He was skipping something. Missing something. The connection between Emily and Eret.

Talk about a culture shock.

It seemed impossible for there to be any connection, since they were so different.

But she had left. Demanded Jack's help, the same day he had helped Eret.

The same day Drago had attacked the city.

Or, one of the times.

One of many times.

The man didn't give up.

What was that saying about the definition of insanity? Drago seemed to have missed the memo. But the man obviously had a few screws loose.

As dragons had swarmed through the city, Pitchiner had sent him out. Given him a list of things to do. Take advantage of the chaos to achieve Pitchiner's ends. Nothing new.

"At least I have insurance on the tower," he had muttered, tossing back a glass of red wine as he watched the news footage. (Later, Jack was sent to wreck the almost untouched Obsidian Tower, to be sure said insurance had to shell out a small fortune.)

But before he could leave, on his way to change into the stupid black skintights, Emily Jane had grabbed his wrist, and demanded he help her leave.

"Now? Emily, he's already furious about this attack! It messes up his schedule for months!"

"But he's distracted. If I leave now, he won't notice I'm gone for hours. Maybe even days. It will give me time to get away."

"What makes you think I can get you out?" It had been stupid. But no one had ever accused him of being especially smart.

The look she gave him made it clear she knew he was hedging. "Don't act like you haven't been sneaking out for years."

Emily Jane Pitchiner always got what she wanted.

He had told her how to get out of the mansion, and off the property, before running to follow his orders.

He was supposed to keep moving. To make sure he got everything done. Kozmotis Pitchiner already had a list of reasons to be livid for the next few days. Jack had no intention of making it worse. So he kept moving. Ignored the golden glow that called to him in a way he couldn't for thr life of him begin to understand, let alone explain. Ignored the sounds of the dragon's plasma blasts. Avoided the Big 4 as best he could. They all had enough to do. A fight with him would just make all their lives worse.

Night Fury had seen him at one point. The dragon had hovered in the air, while the rider had looked at Jack, who stood on the edge of one of the skyscrapers. Even with his face hidden, Jack knew he was calculating. Trying to decide if going after him would be worth it, or if he should get back to the larger fight.

He had chosen the greater threat. Though the dragon had growled, giving Jack one last glare as they flew away.

But Jack had watched from the shadows as one of Drago's men saved the red head. Hadn't let Drago's men kill her. Had shoved her out of the way, shielding her with his broad shoulders, and getting a few more scars out of the deal. Though he seemed as confused as everyone else in the alleyway. (Jack had been debating if he should do it, when he heard Drago scream "kill her!" This saved him getting in trouble with Pitchiner, in case the news cameras caught it.)

Braveheart/Merida had high tailed herself out as soon as she saw an opening. (The only time Jack would ever see her acknowledge that she couldn't handle a fight on her own. Or at least, he thought that was why she left so fast. But it was so out of character for her... maybe there had been more to it. Not that it really mattered.)

She had left. Not seeming to realize that the men who had been about to kill her now turned on the one who had saved her. Again, on Drago's orders.

Jack had stepped in without thinking. Even though he knew it was a risk. Knew Pitchiner would be furious if he found out. But the street was frosted over, Drago's men either running, or unconscious on the ground, before Jack could even try to stop himself.

Eret (he would learn later that the man's name was Eret) had stared at him. "Why-"

"Just go!"

On the same night, he had gotten Emily Jane away from her father, and Eret away from Drago. Not a bad night of hero work, especially considering he had still technically been a villain at the time.

And he had still gone back to Pitchiner Manor.

How stupid could he get?

He stumbled on Eret again by accident, a few months later.

Rather, he'd seen Braveheart outside Gobber's shop. (Seriously, how was it possible half Burgess University hadn't figured it out just from the hair?) He hadn't known it was her, obviously. But the hair had caught his attention, and he had slipped into the shadows in case it was her.

Sure enough.

That was how he overheard Eret asking the redhead how long she would insist on hanging around as if she were his probation officer. When she would accept that he wasn't going to betray them.

"I'm just trying to live my life. I'm done being involved with dragons and vigilantes." (Well, something had definitely changed since then.)

Merida had glowered at him, before storming off. With muttered threats Jack hadn't been able to catch.

Jack couldn't explain why he had thought it would be a good idea to reveal himself to Eret. Maybe he had just been desperate for a friend. Maybe it was fate. He didn't know.

But he had.

Eret was reluctant, since Merida would think their friendship was him betraying the Big 4. Merida's opinion he might have been ambivalent to at the time, but he had respect for Hiccup. But they had still become friends. (Sometimes Jack wondered if the two would be together already if it hadn't been for the few weeks when Merida refused to speak to Eret. But he still couldn't figure out what the heck their relationship was now, so he have no clue.)

It was the first time Jack had had a friend. Someone to just hang out with on the few days Pitchiner granted him free time. It was probably the only reason he had survived those last few months. Once Pitchiner turned himself to Pitch Black. And the Nightmare King name had become literal. And Jack had learned what it felt like to have Nightmares crawling around in his head. Forced to relive his worst memories. To live out his worst fears.

Living in Pitchiner Manor had never been a walk in the park for him. But living with Pitch Black had been… well, a nightmare.

That last fight against the Big 4. That last night working for Pitchiner.

Bleeding, barely conscious, barely able to breathe from all the ribs that had cracked under Pitch's fists, he had found himself at the door of Eret's apartment.

He'd had nowhere else to go.

So he had knocked on the door. Stumbled through when Eret opened it. But only made it a few feet in before falling. Coughing blood onto the off whitish carpet.

He managed to catch himself when he hit his knees, all he had been able to see was the blood on the carpet. All he had been able to feel was the pain in his chest and throat. Had barely heard whatever Eret was saying. He heard his name. But everything was blurry and out of focus.

All he had been able to think was: _This is it. I'm finally going to die._

As his arms had given out, he had fallen straight into the old dream. The old nightmare.

The old memory.

Lying in the snow. Cold seeping into his body. The world fading further and further away as he grew numb to the pain.

Sirens wailing, a world away. But flashing so bright they stabbed through his closed eyelids.

He had thought so much about that night – dreamt it, mentally relived it – so many times, he could barely remember what was real, and what his brain had invented to fill in the gaps.

Couldn't remember if he had felt the change.

If he had felt the exact moment the cold had triggered his dormant DNA. Felt his entire body start to mutate.

He should have died that night.

Why couldn't he have died that night?

He asked himself again, for the seven hundredth time, as he hit the floor, and pain exploded through his body. As his blood sank into, and stained, the carpet beneath him. Vaguely aware of Eret reacting admirably. Pressing a towel to the wound. Cutting away his hoodie and tshirt. Making the call that had saved his life.

Why couldn't he have died when he lost his parents? When his whole world had died.

Why could he never seem to just die?

All things considered, he shouldn't have survived this long.

He woke up to warm gold surging through his veins.

**#**

Astrid pressed the cloths against the entry and exit wounds on Jack's side, applying pressure the way Eret had shown her. But it didn't seem to be making much of a difference. She wasn't sure which was worse: feeling his blood was hot against her fingers, or when it was gone cold. Both were disconcerting in their own way.

When it lost its heat, it felt like a dark promise of failure. That they wouldn't be able to succeed.

It wasn't that blood bothered her. Large amounts of the stuff weren't exactly new to her. Living in the woods, it seemed inevitable that her father was a hunter. And she couldn't even remember how young she had been when he taught her how to help him skin a deer. A blood, messy job. And one she had handled just as well as her brothers.

This, though… This was completely different.

It wasn't about draining the blood of an animal that was already dead. Whose death didn't mean anything to her except that she would end up eating it.

Now, she was trying to stop her friend from bleeding out.

At some point Jack's hair had turned back to brown, though his skin remained deathly pale.

"How much longer can he hold out?" she asked, as Eret came up beside her.

He didn't answer. And when she glanced over, she saw his mouth pressed together in a thin line, his eyes narrowed in concentration.

That didn't strike her as especially reassuring.

Working around her hands, which continued to apply pressure to the wounds, he cut away the fabric of Jack's jacket. Tossing the pieces to the floor. "I'll take over."

Astrid stumbled backwards. Gasping for breath, she hadn't even realized she had held almost the whole time.

Eret started to clean the blood off Jack's skin, wiping it away with a cloth he had soaked in hot water. But it couldn't change the fact red was still everywhere. Still coming out of that hole in his pale skin.

"Come on, Overland," Eret whispered. "We've been through too much."

"You seem like you know what you're doing," she said, watching him work steadily, with an efficiency that could only come from practice.

Lots of practice.

"I was a dragon trapper before Jack saved my life," Eret said, not looking up. "It wasn't exactly a safe job."

She suddenly remembered the X-shaped scar on the right side of his neck. And the vivid pink one she had once caught sight of on his upper arm. After their first few meetings, she hadn't thought much of them. She had just accepted what Gobber had said: that Eret had had a rough time, and a friend had asked him to help the young man get his feet back under him.

Considering Toothless and Stormfly's claws, she didn't doubt that dragon trapping was a dangerous business.

She wanted to ask about the whole "worked for Drago" thing… but now really didn't seem like the best time.

"Being friends with superheroes isn't much better," he added, his tone grim, as if he hated saying the words out loud.

Uselessness hit her in the stomach like a ton of bricks as she stood in the middle of the room. Trying to figure out what to do with her hands. What to do with herself. And realizing there wasn't anything she could do.

Nothing useful, anyway.

All she could do was watch Eret work.

And she hated that.

Hated feeling useless.

She was not a spectator! She wasn't capable of doing nothing when _something_ needed to be done. Just watching someone else do it left a bitter taste in her mouth, because her action-orientated brain screamed at her to _do_ something.

"There's a bathroom through there," Eret said suddenly, jerking his head towards one of the two doorways on the far wall. Without taking his eyes off his hands as they continued to wrap the bandage. Tightening it. "You should wash up."

She looked down at her hands. Covered in sticky red blood that was steadily drying on her hands.

Human blood.

Jack's blood.

Her body started to tremble as it hit her again. As her eyes took in smears of blood on her sleeves, and the front of her jacket.

"Astrid!"

Tearing her eyes away from the red, she looked over at Eret. Though his hands continued to press against Jack's wound, now he was looking at her. His brown eyes were determined.

"Go wash up. It's on your back, too." His voice was steady. Practical. Commanding.

And in her shaken state, she couldn't disobey. It gave her something to focus on, other than the fact Jack was still bleeding. It was something to _do_. Something that had to be done. Even if it wouldn't made any difference for Jack's situation. The blood sticking to her, that she was about to wash down the drain, was already lost.

Astrid took a deep breath, and gave a jerky nod. Though Eret had already focused his eyes back on his task.

"On the right," Eret said. Just as she started to wonder which of the two doors it was.

Opening the door on the right, she looked inside at the bathroom. It was understandably small, considering they were in the back of what was essentially a shed, with just a toilet in one corner, and a sink in another. But it was clean. And the soap that sat on the back of the sink was a fruit scented thing that could only have been placed there by Rapunzel. The same went for the light green towel hung neatly over the bar.

Another breath. This one a little steadier. Inhale. Gather her thoughts. Remind herself what she was here to do. Exhale. Steadier still.

She turned the nobs of the sink, adding some cold to the hot to keep it from burning her skin. But not enough to dull the edge.

As she waited for it to heat, she shed her jacket and saw that Eret had been right. (Not that she had doubted him.) The back was smeared from the where Jack had leaned against her on the motorcycle.

She frowned as she looked it over. Hopefully it would come out. She doubted Hiccup had the time to make her another one, and she had already thrown out the old one.

For now, she dropped it on the floor and pumped a generous amount of the purple soap onto her palm. She rubbed her hands together, working to soap into a lather and started scrubbing at her hands and forearms. The red streaks had worked their way up several inches above her wrists. Some on the sleeves of her blue shirt, which she would probably have to throw out later.

The water ran off her skin sudsy, tinted red with blood as it swirled around the sink, before vanishing down the drain.

She wasn't a doctor by any stretch of the imagination. But she knew Jack had lost a lot of blood. How much, she couldn't begin to guess. She wasn't even sure exactly how much was too much. Just that he was dangerously close. He was so pale…

She scraped away the line of red under her nails with more force than necessary. Calling all the nerves there to attention as she tried not to think about how much time they had. How long it would take Rapunzel to get there.

When the blood was off her skin, she picked up her jacket from the floor and held it under the steaming water that poured from the faucet. It came off the smooth leather with little persuasion. Washed away, down the drain.

As the red in her vision shrank to nothing, she breathed a little easier. The fear in her gut started to loosen. Even if just a little.

After a third look over, she accepted that her jacket was free of blood. She had even run her nails under the decorative seams to make sure there was no red caught underneath.

She exhaled as she turned off the water, rubbing a still damp hand through her hair.

A few more breaths. Deep inhale. Deep exhale.

Glancing through the open doorway, she saw that Eret had stepped back from the cot, rubbing his forehead with the back of his wrist.

"Is he…"

"Still alive," he said. "Barely." When he turned back to her, she saw that his wrist had left a streak of red across his temple. There was another on his jaw. Another five or so on his grey tshirt. Including one in the shape of a large handprint rubbed over his waist.

Astrid left the bathroom, going back into the main area so Eret could wash up. She draped her jacket over the back of one of the chairs at the desk before sinking into the seat.

Jack lay on his back now, still pale. The rise and fall of his chest so shallow, she almost couldn't see it.

She left her seat to pick up the bloody rags, and the pieces of his jacket that had been dropped to the floor, and throw them into the garbage can. It was something to do.

"You got there just in time."

"What?" She looked over to see Eret drying his hands in the bathroom door.

He came over and sat down in one of the other chairs, shoulders sagging as he ran the hand towel over his face, which dripped with the water he had used to clean away the blood streaks.

"If he'd held onto Isolfr any longer, he wouldn't have made it."

"Isolfr?"

"The wolf," he said. "The ice wolf he controls."

She frowned, thinking back to when she had gotten in the harbor steps. All her attention had been focused on getting to Jack. But when she thought about it, she remembered seeing the wolf at the corner of her vision, though she hadn't been able to process what she was seeing.

"It's usually his last resort," Eret explained. "But it takes a lot out of him."

"I just left as soon as I saw he'd been stabbed," she admitted.

"It's a good thing you did."

They were silent for a couple minutes, both watching Jack. Maybe they were both hoping for some sign that he was going to pull through. Some sign that she really had made it to him in time.

"Does this happen a lot?" she asked, looking over at Eret.

"Often enough," he said, his voice once more grim.

Astrid wondered for a moment what caused the weight behind his words as she said it. But then she remembered the way he had looked at Merida when she had come into the shop the day before.

"Rapunzel is usually close enough that there's not much risk, even when it's this bad," he went on. "But this place gets enough use to warrant the investment."

Astrid looked around the room again, taking in the cot Jack lay on; the desk strewn with papers in a way that she was coming to think of as Hiccup's signature, and a closed laptop pushed to the back; a chest of drawers that looked like it had probably been picked up from a yard sale, if it hadn't been left on the curb for free; the cabinet Eret had pulled the medical supplies from. Two folding chairs leaned against the wall, while she and Eret sat in the two office chairs. It wasn't very high tech, but it obviously served a purpose.

"How many of these places do they have across the city?"

"Just this one. Though the Guardians would probably let them use Lunanoff Tower."

"They're connected to the Guardians?"

"Jack is," he said, looking over. "I thought they filled you in."

Astrid frowned as she slouched back in the chair. "I guess they left out quite a bit."

"Well, they have been at this for five years," Eret said. "They've probably started to take some things for granted."

"Like Rapunzel's healing powers?"

"Like that." He shook his head. "She doesn't really help. She hates seeing people in pain, so she heals every injury, even if it's not serious. It's made Jack and Merida both reckless, because they think she'll always be there to heal them."

"It's probably a good thing she didn't go into nursing," Astrid said, remembering what Hiccup had said in the art lab the second time they met.

"It's why Hiccup didn't _let_ her go into nursing," Eret sighed, rubbing his face again. "He said it took him and Valka weeks to talk her down. She wouldn't have been able to resist healing every patient she met."

That certainly fit what Astrid knew of Rapunzel.

Jack stirred, groaning softly.

"Bad dreams," Eret murmured.

He stood up to check on Jack, but the sound of a car coming up they alley caused them both to look towards the door. Before the crunch of gravel had come to a stop, the door was thrown open by Rapunzel. She didn't seem to notice them in the garage, going straight for the cot in the corner.

"Oh, Jack," she whispered, her hand hovering over his pale shoulder as she perched on the edge of the bed. Astrid saw her fingers tremble as they brushed Jack's hair off his temple. Rapunzel bit her lip, her eyes shining as she blinked.

Was it because it was Jack? Or just because she really couldn't bear for anyone to be in pain?

Her hand slid through the air, less than an inch from Jack's skin, until it came to rest over the bandage. The place where white had started to be taken over with red.

This was the first time she had seen Rapunzel's healing powers, Astrid realized. And she watched in awe as the hand pressed over Jack's injury began to glow. Golden, and warm in a way that made Astrid feel warm just looking at it. Strands of light like solar flares grew and swirled around her hand, spreading until their glow filled the dimly lit room.

Movement from the corner of her eye caught Astrid's attention, and she reluctantly tore her eyes away from the display to look. Hiccup stood in the doorway, his eyes on Jack and Rapunzel.

Jack gasped and coughed, and Astrid whipped her head back to watch.

With her free hand, Rapunzel wiped blood off Jack's chin, and didn't seem to give a second though to wiping it off on her jeans.

The glow was already beginning to fade, and Jack had visibly relaxed.

Even once the light was gone, silence hung over the room, all of them watched without saying a word. Though Astrid realized she was holding her breath again. Waiting to see what happened. Dreading that Rapunzel was going to say they hadn't made it in time.

But Rapunzel's hand made its way back up to Jack's face. Her fingers gently traced his brow, the subtle rise of his cheekbones, and down to his jaw. When she pushed another strand of hair off his temple, Jack's eyes fluttered open.

"Punz?" he asked, his voice groggy, and his eyes out of focus.

Rapunzel's smile was almost bright enough to put the light show to shame. "You're okay."

"I figured." He reached up and caught her hand. Even in his human form, his skin was pale against hers as he wrapped his fingers around hers. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." She interlaced her fingers with his.

The two seemed completely oblivious to the fact they weren't alone in the room. And it was starting to make Astrid feel awkward. The way they were looking at each other, she half expected one of them to say something sickeningly romantic, if Rapunzel didn't just lean down to kiss him. Which she seemed very, very close to doing.

Astrid looked over at Hiccup again, and was grateful to see his jaw working, as if he were trying to think of something to say that would remind the lovebird they had an audience.

Before he could, or before any of them could make a move, a motorcycle roaring into the alleyway. In less than two seconds it reached the shed. The rider turned off the engine, then their steps could be heard running across the gravel.

It was enough that Jack and Rapunzel both looked over, and she finally sat back from leaning over him. (Her cheeks appropriately pink as she looked around at all of them.)

Hiccup stepped inside, and out of the way, just before Merida came barreling in. So fast she probably wouldn't have been able to stop herself from knocking him over if he hadn't gotten out of the way. She looked around the room, taking all of them in, before he eyes finally settled on Jack. Relief flashed in her expression.

Before she quickly covered it up.

"You're still alive, then?"

Jack nodded. "You're stuck with me a little longer, Red."

#

"Since when does Elsa attack you?" Merida asked, tossing Jack the bottle of Coca-Cola she had just gotten him from the vending machine in the shop.

Jack caught it easily from where he now sat on the edge of the cot. Rapunzel had yet to leave his side, and now sat with her legs tucked beneath her. She obviously hadn't fully approved of Jack's request for a coke, though Merida had already been out the door before she could finish voicing her protest.

"I had a near death experience," Jack had told her. "I earned a soda."

Rapunzel hadn't been able to argue with that logic.

"It's not the first time," Hiccup said, sitting on one of the folding chairs that had been in the corner. "You guys have fought before."

"But she's never _attacked_ him," Merida said, twisting off the top of the ginger ale she had gotten for herself. She perched herself on the desk, next to the office chair Eret still sat in. When she had taken a long drink, she tapped the bottle against Eret's arm. He accepted it without even looking over.

Jack nodded, wiping soda from the corner of his mouth with the back of his wrist. "She lashes out sometimes, and I run defense. But this was different. It was deliberate."

"Like I said: since when?" Merida asked, taking her soda back after Eret had taken a drink.

"There was a Nightmare in the penthouse," Jack said, with a scowl.

That got everyone's attention. And certainly explained his scowl

"Are you sure?" Hiccup asked.

Jack shot him a "do you remember who you're talking to?" look as he took another drink.

"Good point," Hiccup sighed, running a hand through his hair. "But what was it doing there?"

The silence that fell over the room was heavy. Astrid looked around at the others, who were all looking anywhere but at each other. All fidgeting.

"You think Pitch got to her," Eret said, finally.

Just the name caused Astrid's gut to clench.

It bothered her that she was so scared of someone she hadn't even met. Until she remembered the sensation of looking at the Nightmare in the college parking lot. Like darkness was creeping into her soul. Searching for weaknesses it could use to suffocate her.

The others looked all the more uncomfortable now that the words were out in the open. Though their expressions suggested it was the theory they had all reached.

"Great." Hiccup sank back into his chair. "As if Pitch isn't bad enough on his own, he's building an army."

"Out of everyone that hates us," Merida muttered.

Hiccup looked over at her, one arm sweeping in a "not now" gesture.

"It's true."

"Elsa doesn't hate us," Hiccup said.

"I wish she did," Jack said, standing up from the cot and pacing a few steps. "Hate I know what to do with. I can fight against someone who hates me."

"I told you not to ignore her infatuation with you," Hiccup said, his tone every inch the team leader. Almost parental.

Jack looked away. Obviously not wanting to admit that Hiccup was right. It didn't seem to work, though. "What was I supposed to do?"

"Somethin' other than what you did," Merida said.

"Don't," Jack said, pointing at her. "Don't even start."

She shrugged as she took another swig from her soda. The unspoken accusation seeming to roll right off her back.

"The point," Hiccup said, raising his voice just enough to draw everyone's attention back to him, "is that we still have no idea where Pitch is. Or what he's planning."

"I've pulled every string I can," Jack said. "No one's heard from him. No one I'm in contact with."

"Emily Jane?"

Jack shook his head. "I'll text Anna. Maybe Elsa told her something."

"I don't think they're on speaking terms," Rapunzel said quietly.

"It's worth a shot," Hiccup said. Though he looked doubtful. "And it's not like we have many options."

#

Pitch Black leaned back in his office chair as he watched the news footage replay. It would be a while before he got tired of watching it.

It had gone better than he could have hoped, really.

He had known Elsa would perform beautifully, of course. He had put years into feeding her fears. Preparing her. Even when he hadn't had a definite plan, he had known she would be a useful tool. The fact her powers paralleled Jack's, possibly even exceeded his in some ways, meant she would be ideal to stop him if the need arose.

Well, not ideal. She would never match Jack's fighting prowess. Even if she had the training, Jack was a natural at an art that would always be foreign to someone like Elsa. Though her weak will was what had made her so easy to control. To guide.

Her crush with Jack had worried him a little.

Oh, the irony.

Jack's infatuation with Rapunzel was exactly what had caused him to fail Pitch so badly. Had eventually cost him all he had invested into the boy's training, and education. But he was also so obvious, it had been child's play to manipulate the pain it caused Elsa.

A smile tugged at the corners of his lips as he watched the ice spike stab through Jack's side. He did so love Jack's scream of pain.

This had been a test run. Just to see how far Elsa would be able to go in a fight against Jack.

And this…

Oh, this was more than he had ever expected.

His smile faltered a little as Jack's ice wolf darted across the screen. Sleek, fast, and deadly. A skill he hadn't known about when Jack had been in his employ. Though he had seen the wolf a few times since Jack's betrayal, it was always so disappointing to be reminded that someone had held out on him.

Jack would be fine, of course. Rapunzel would see to that.

For now.

But his plans for Rapunzel were already in place. As was the backup plan. (Considering how annoyingly resilient the Big 4 could be, he was sure he would need it.)

His smile faltered further when the motorcycle roared onto the screen.

He had thought at first, when he saw the blonde braid, that it was Rapunzel. But no. The movements were all wrong. Too blunt and forceful.

This was a wildcard he hadn't expected. One that might interfere with his plans if left unchecked.

Might.

He would just need time to assess the threat. It was just a matter of getting his Nightmares close enough to find her weakness.

His smile returned as he relaxed again.

Well, he supposed it was only fair. He had a few wildcards of his own.

And never let it be said he was one to shy away from a challenge.


	15. Finally

**This story is now 9 chapters shorter than it was… simply by combining the chapters that were far too short. **

**And yes, this means new material is coming!**

Chapter 15: Finally

Back in her apartment, Astrid didn't bother turning on the TV. For now, her own thoughts were loud enough that she didn't need a distraction. And she had plenty to think about as she paced around her living room. Occasionally she stopped to look out the window, where she saw only the barest impression of the trees in the darkness beyond.

She tried not to think about things that lurked in the dark of the night.

This time, it had worked out. Eret said she had been just in time. By some miracle, she had gotten Jack out of the fight in time, and Rapunzel had gotten to the garage soon enough. To quote Merida, he was going to live to torment them all another day.

But what happened next time?

The next time, they would probably be facing Pitch Black, or Gothel, or Drago, or Mor'du, or stars' knew who else. If she'd had such a hard time sitting out something she had been told was nothing to worry about, what was going to happen when her friends went up against a major threat?

And this time, it had been Jack.

What about when it was Hiccup?

She didn't know. And she didn't exactly want to find out.

Finally, it all came together while she stood at the stove, heating up a can of soup for dinner. The solution was simple, really. She was surprised she hadn't thought of it sooner. Pulling her phone from her back pocket, she called the number that she knew was at the top of her recent calls.

"Hello?" Hiccup sounded as though he had something in the side of his mouth as he spoke.

Astrid didn't bother with pleasantries. (She had always thought they were overrated, anything.)

"I want to join the team."

Astrid hadn't known how he would react. (Surprised? Disapproving? Enthusiastic?) But she hadn't expected the reaction she got.

"Well, Jack wins that bet," Hiccup said, still sounding distracted. She thought she heard a metallic click in the background.

"What bet?" she asked, temporarily sidetracked, and not entirely sure they were on the same subject.

"He and Merida made bets on how long before you said that," he said. "Earlier I heard him upping the ante. I don't know specifics, but Jack doesn't raise the stakes unless he knows the odds are in his favor."

"How much?" If Jack got anything out of this, she wanted a percentage.

Hiccup chuckled. "Fifty dollars, I think."

What was ten dollars out of fifty? Twenty percent? That seemed reasonable.

Astrid shook off those thoughts, determined to get back on topic. This wasn't something she would back down from, even if she had to fight her way in.

"So, can I join?"

Hiccup snickered. When he spoke again, the thing in his mouth had been taken out. "Astrid, if I say no, you're going to start a whole debate to change my mind. If I still say no, you'll probably just bulldoze over me. I might as well save time and just say yes now."

"Do you not want me to?" she asked. Not entirely sure how to interoperate that.

"That's not—I do!" he said. "Just think about it for a minute, okay? This isn't a game – its life or death. It's not something you do on a whim. If you really want to join, you need to be committed."

The weight in his voice took her aback a little. While Hiccup was often serious, this was a different kind of gravitas. It suited his words, but those surprised her a little as well. For the past few weeks, listening to them banter and laugh, she had never thought much about whether or not they considered just how much danger they put themselves in.

Today should have proved otherwise, though.

She thought about Hiccup's fall, and realized how naïve she had been.

Of course they considered it. They were forced to. That was probably why they laughed so easily.

"I understand," she said, her own tone taking on a new seriousness.

"Well, considering the way you ride, I didn't think you'd have a problem with that," Hiccup said.

It was her turn to snicker.

"Besides, why do you think I gave you Stormfly?"

"You've been planning this?"

Hiccup made an "eh" sound that she recognized to mean he was shrugging. "You're not a spectator, Astrid. You proved that today."

"Don't you need to vote on it, or something?" He was the team's obvious leader, but she had the impression they were all involved with important decisions.

"We already did."

"What? When?"

"The first night you came out here – when you found out about us," he said. "We had an emergency meeting and realized that, if you didn't turn us in, you'd probably want to join. That's when Jack and Merida started betting on how long it would take."

"How did that go?" She hadn't even considered that they would need to have an emergency meeting. Turning them in had never even crossed her mind, though she knew the police were always offering a reward for any information regarding the Big 4.

"Unanimous. Well, Merida was a qualified yes, and my mom withheld her vote until after she met you."

"And they said yes?"

"Yeah," he said. "The other night my mom asked why I didn't just invite you."

That was a very good question.

"So why didn't you?" she asked.

"Because it's the kind of thing you have to choose for yourself," he said. "You're more likely to think about the consequences if you have the idea for yourself. And that made a lot more sense in my head."

"It makes sense," she said. "I saw the consequences today."

"Yeah." He sighed. "All these near misses lately, while Pitch is planning something. It's not exactly reassuring."

"That's why it will be a good idea for you to have another person," she said. "Not to mention another dragon."

"You don't need to sell me on it, Astrid," he said, and she could hear him grinning.

"So… I'm in?" she asked, just to be sure.

"You're in," he confirmed. "Come by the house after your classes tomorrow, and we'll get started."

#

"Get up."

Astrid had always considered herself an active person. She had grown up wrestling with her brothers, and been able to hold her own despite the fact that they were all bigger, and stronger, than she was. In a family of athletes, the only way to get attention was to prove yourself physically.

In elementary school, while most girls played hopscotch, or gossiped near the jungle gym, Astrid had been running races with the boys. The first week of school it was pretty much guaranteed she would get in trouble for beating up the one boy who said girls couldn't run.

PE had always been her strongest subject.

In middle school she had been the star volleyball player. And that had carried over into high school, until the day Gobber had introduced her to motorcycle racing. A sport that still required her to be physically fit.

In college, she had passed Calhoun's physical evaluation without much struggle. And she handled the twice-weekly classes without much trouble.

She was a physical fitness major, for heaven's sake!

So she had thought the superhero thing would be a breeze. If Hiccup and Rapunzel could do it, she should be fine, right?

"If this were a real fight, you know you'd be dead, right?"

Jackson Overland was proving just how wrong that assumption had been.

In a word: _Very._

She felt Jack crouch down beside her on the living room, where they had pushed aside the furniture to spar. Toothless lay curled up in one corner, watching them through half-lidded eyes.

Jack flicked her forehead lightly. "You in college to be what, again?"

"A fitness trainer," she groaned, a forearm draped over her eyes. "You don't have to rub it in." She was starting to wonder if she needed a different major.

"I'm trying not to," he said, and the smirk was so obvious in his voice that it was physically painful. "It's really hard, though."

She had been training with Jack for a week, in between classes, and flight training with Hiccup. To top it off, she'd had Calhoun's kickboxing class the night before. It was the first time she had ever gotten out of the class and barely been able to walk. She had gotten back to her apartment and barely stayed awake long enough to take a shower before she collapsed into bed.

She had known when she agreed to the spar that she didn't have the energy she needed to successfully take Jack on. But her pride hadn't liked the thought of saying no. And she hadn't had an excuse, since Hiccup wasn't back from class, and Rapunzel had gone grocery shopping, with Merida as her assistant.

Now she lay on her back on the carpet, too sore and drained to find the motivation to get up.

When she had agreed to train with Jack in hand-to-hand combat, she hadn't expected he would push her so hard. To look at him, she hadn't thought he had that kind of strength, or stamina.

"One more round, then you can rest," Jack said, standing up.

When Astrid lifted her arm from her eyes, she saw he was holding out a hand to help her up.

Gritting her teeth, she steeled her strength and forced herself to stand up without his help. Her dignity was sufficiently tattered, thank you very much.

"Good." Jack nodded in approval.

For some reason, that approval chaffed. Maybe because Astrid had never expected Jack to be someone whose approval she wanted in this area. In any area, really; but this one especially.

But it was that annoyance that gave her the motivation to gather her strength and resolve. One more round. She could handle one more round. Her father was always telling her and her brothers that they could handle more than they thought they could.

Of course, how many of his students had he driven to the emergency room with that philosophy?

Jack moved to attack.

Good.

With his parkour skills, trying to attack him usually proved to be a waste of time. If it wasn't fully planned out, to compensate for his ability to dodge, she just wore herself out.

After days of work, and Jack shouting at her to use her head, she was finally getting that point. (Only after she had gotten so exasperated that she had broken his nose by slamming her forehead into his face. "That's not what I meant by 'use your head'!" he had said, even as Rapunzel healed it. Merida at least had found the whole thing hilarious.)

She had noticed early on that Jack's fight style relied heavily on the use of his legs, leaving his hands free to control his powers. Though his kicks were sharp and powerful, so it wasn't as if that put him at a disadvantage.

He came at her with a roundhouse kick, aiming for her left side. One of his favored moves.

Taking advantage of the movement, Astrid hooked her elbow around his ankle. Before he could slip out of the loose hold, she brought her right foot around in her own kick. Her shin collided with his stomach. Not full force. But with enough that he gasped at the impact.

Even as the blow landed, Jack was moving. Twisting his body so he could vault backwards and pull his foot free.

Astrid lunged forward the close the distance. Jumping over his low, sweeping kick.

Falling back on old habits from her childhood, she tackled him to the ground. Pressing his face into the carpet.

He tried to fight back, but Astrid dug her elbow into his back to keep him down. She was breathing heavily, but satisfied with her first victory.

The garage door opened, and she looked over to see Hiccup coming down the hallway. Though the way Toothless had jumped up had given away who it was before he came into view. He didn't show any sign of surprise when he saw them. Just quirked an eyebrow as he went into the kitchen. "I'm sure he deserved it."

"Ha, ha," Jack said sarcastically. "You win, Astrid. You can let me up now."

"I dunno," she said, not even trying to hide her grin. "I kind of want to gloat a bit."

"Let me up, or I'll throw you off."

With her knee pinning one of his arms, while the other was trapped under him, and her elbow in his back? She snickered. "I'd like to see you try."

"Uh, Astrid," Hiccup said, his tone warning. "You remember he can—"

One second she had Jack pinned.

The next, she was on the floor again, looking up at Jack as he straightened. He had moved so fast, she hadn't even seen how he did it.

In the kitchen, Hiccup sighed. "You remember he can fly, right?"

Astrid grimaced as she sat up. "No. I forgot about that."

She swatted away the hand Jack offered her. Between her sore muscles, and her bruised ego, she didn't feel like standing up. Especially not if she needed help to do so.

Hiccup came over with two glasses of orange juice – one of which he held out to her, while he took a sip from the other. That she did accept. She hadn't even realized how thirsty she was until the juice hit her tongue.

"What? None for me?" Jack asked, in mock offense.

"You can fly," Hiccup reminded, gesturing broadly towards the kitchen as he took a seat on the couch closest to where Astrid sat on the floor. Toothless had followed him, and now curled up on the floor once more.

"So much for winners and spoils."

"You cheated," Astrid muttered.

Until today, Jack hasn't used his powers, so the move had been completely unexpected.

"No such thing," Jack said, voice turning grim.

"Don't you have an essay to write?" Hiccup asked, brow raising as he nodded towards the arched doorway.

Jack groaned. But still managed to sound casual as he said: "I can tell when I'm not wanted. Don't get into trouble without me."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Hiccup muttered, as Jack vanished from view.

Once he was gone, Astrid moved across the carpet so she could slump against the foot of the couch. Her arm was a few scant inches from Hiccup's right leg.

"He's right."

She cringed.

"Everyone we fight plays dirty," Hiccup went on. "Jack's just trying to prepare you."

The severity of his tone kept her from being annoyed.

Well, she was still annoyed. But she also saw his point. And, if they kept her alive against the likes of Pitch Black, she guessed she could accept Jack's training methods. Even if they did leave her sore and tired.

"I had kickboxing last night," she said, closing her eyes. "Then two hours of training with Jack today."

"And you two have been at it all week."

"I'm exhausted," she admitted with a yawn. Not something she liked saying out loud.

Thank goodness she didn't have racing on top of all this. She wasn't sure she could have handled it all.

"Are you too tired for some flight drills?"

She didn't want to admit it… but she was.

She was spared have to say the words, though.

Down the hall, a door slammed open. They both looked towards the arch, and the sound of running steps on the carpeted floor.

"Hiccup!"

Jack grabbed the side of the archway to slow his momentum as he hurtled into the living room.

"What—" Hiccup started.

"Turn on the news," Jack said. His eyes darted around, then he lunged for the remote before Hiccup or Astrid could make a move. His entire body fidgeted as he hit the power button, and waited for the TV to come up.

Hiccup started to ask again what was going on.

This time he was stopped by Pitch Black's gaunt, angular face appearing on the screen. Astrid's breath caught in her throat at the sight of him, and she felt Hiccup tense. Toothless rose to his feet, teeth bared, growling at the screen.

"Hello, Burgess," Black said. His voice was deep, rich velvet, with traces of a British accent. And it was terrifying. "It's been a while, hasn't it? I'm sure some of you had begun to hope you had seen the last of me." He chuckled, deep in his throat. "Well, I've missed all of you as well."

Astrid shuddered.

"Now, I'm sure you're wondering _why_ I'm sending out this little message, so allow me to explain. Not that you have much choice." That seemed to amuse him, though Astrid saw nothing funny about it. "In recent years, our fair city has been plagued by a certain pest problem. And, for a while, I was willing to play along. I confess, it was even a little…" his thin lips pulled in a twisted smile "fun."

Jack snarled, but Hiccup waved for him to be quiet.

"I no longer have the patience for costumed freaks and their pet dragons, however," Black went on. "So I've decided to make it my personal mission to rid this city of the Big 4. Once they're out of the way, things will go back to how they were. I'll own Burgess once more. Only this time, you'll know it."

He started to turn away from the camera.

"Ah, before I forget. There are two personal messages I want to send out – since I know neither of you are taking my calls.

"To my daughter: Well done, cutting off my funds. I was far more impressed than upset. Don't try to deny it – Jackson isn't intelligent enough to be that thorough. Really: brava, my dear."

The mention of Jack caused her stomach to clench. As if Pitch were looking straight through the screen, into the living room.

But then it got worse.

"And, Jackson. Despite that, I won't insult your intelligence by trying to pretend this isn't about you. We both know it is. I have no intention of resting until I'm sure you've been stopped. After your betrayal, you should expect nothing less." Black smiled. The expression was all teeth, and hard eyes.

"Don't bother trying to track this feed, Night Fury. You would only be wasting your time. Until next time, Burgess." He gave a dramatic salute, and the screen went dark.

It stayed that way for a heartbeat, before Black's face came back.

Jack turned the TV off before the video could start over.

Silence hung over the living room for several tense moments.

"What do we do now?" Astrid asked.

"Nothing," Jack said bitterly, not looking away from the screen.

"What?" That was not the answer she had expected.

"What can we do?" Hiccup asked. "I can try tracking it, but it will probably just be a dead end. He could be in Timbuktu for all we know."

"He set it up so there's nothing we can do," Jack said. "To make sure we know that he's in charge."

"So we're supposed to sit here and do nothing?"

Jack's phone rang before the boys could do more than exchange frustrated glances. Dread and resignation took over his expression even as he took the device from the pocket of his hoodie. "It just doesn't end."

He looked more like he was about to face a firing squad than answer a phone call. But he didn't raise it to his ear once he had accepted the call.

"Hey, Emily Jane."

"Don't call me that!" Just by how furious the woman on the other end was, Astrid understood why he hadn't exactly been enthusiastic about the call. "Especially not now."

"Sorry." Not that he sounded at all sincere.

"Do you have any idea how hard I've worked to keep my name from being tied to my father's?" the woman asked, her accent noble and fluid even through her anger, and the tinny quality of the phone's speaker. Astrid thought she had heard the voice somewhere, but it must have been her imagination. "In this day and age, it's almost impossible to keep something like that from the press. Especially in my position."

"Yes, I do know," Jack said, flopping back onto the second couch. "Because you tell me every time we talk!"

"I do not have time for your attitude, Jackson."

"You sound just look him," Jack muttered. Looking over at Hiccup, he mouthed "save me", his blue eyes pleading.

Hiccup shrugged, his expression asking what he could possibly do.

There was a moment of silence from the other end, save for the crackle of the woman exhaling. Astrid wondered if she was counting to ten to try and maintain control her temper. When she spoke again, though, her whole demeanor had changed. The authority had drained away. And she sounded… scared.

"I have worked too hard to try and build this life. It's been three years. Why would he call me out now if he isn't including me in whatever he has planned?"

Jack didn't respond for a moment. Then another. His annoyed expression had faded, and he looked up at the ceiling as if trying to find an answer.

"Just do something about it, Jackson."

"I was planning to."

"And were you _planning_ to get stabbed last week?"

Jack scowled. "I'm hanging up now."

"I'm looking out for you."

"Right." He rolled his eyes. "Thanks, Emily."

"I told you—"

"I'll stop calling you Emily Jane when you stop calling me Jackson," he said.

There was a sound of exasperation, then the line went dead.

Jack scowled, throwing his phone onto one of the armchairs.

"Who was that?" Astrid asked.

"That," Jack said, rubbing his eyes, "was Emily Jane Pitchiner. Or Seraphina Typhan. Whatever she's calling herself now."

"Isn't she the one who's always on the news talking about keeping the city green or something?" Astrid asked. That would explain why she had thought she'd heard the voice before. "Doesn't she own a cosmetics company?"

"Green Leaf Cosmetics," Jack said.

Cosmetics were beyond Astrid's area of expertise, but it was impossible to live in Burgess and _not_ know who Seraphina Typhan was. Green Leaf Cosmetics was one of the largest local company, and the CEO was always in the news.

"So she's Pitch's daughter?" she asked, putting the pieces together. That was a connection Astrid never would have made.

Jack nodded.

"Where are Rapunzel and Merida?" Hiccup asked.

"They went to the store. Do you want to call them?"

Hiccup shook his head. "What's the point? This was just him making sure we haven't gotten too comfortable."

"I hate this," Astrid muttered.

"It's not exactly my idea of fun, either," Jack said.

"Why did he go out of his way to say this is about you?" she asked, remembering the last part of Black's message. "What's the point?"

Jack shrugged.

"To cultivate public disapproval," Hiccup said, rubbing the back of his neck. "We're not exactly popular as it is. Most people think we're public menaces. Pests. Costumed freaks." His tone was so bitter it was almost painful. Picking up on that, Toothless nudged Hiccup's knee, making a small cooing noise to comfort him.

"Thanks, Bud," Hiccup murmured, resting his hand on the dragon's head.

He took a deep breath before he went on. "Call Jack out, tell the city it's about him, and they'll blame him for whatever comes next. And, by extension, the rest of us."

"Not that Westerguard isn't doing a great job of that already," Jack muttered sarcastically.

Astrid looked over, trying to remember where she had heard that name before. "The guy who wrote that anti-Big 4 book?"

"Anti-vigilante," Hiccup said. "But, yeah."

"And I have to go finish my essay on that book," Jack said, scowl deepening. "And attend his appearance at the college next week."

"So we're really just going to just go about our lives, and not do anything?"

"There is something we can do," Hiccup said.

"You said—"

"We can't do anything about Pitch. But we can work on your training, so you're ready when he does make a move."

Astrid sighed, still exhausted. But she forced herself to stand up, and followed Hiccup out to the stables.


	16. Unexpected Ally

**Oh look! An actual new chapter! I hope you enjoy it, while I slink away guiltily… **

**(I almost named this chapter "Drama Queens", because that's really what we're witnessing here.)**

_Chapter 16: Requirements_

For four days there was nothing.

Though Astrid was starting to feel as if her every waking moment was consumed with training. Either combat training with Jack, or flying Stormfly with Hiccup. When she wasn't training, she was at school.

On Tuesday, she was eating lunch with Hiccup and Rapunzel at one of the picnic tables when Jack came up to them.

The weather was almost too cold to be eating outside. But the sun was out, so they were putting up with the cold. Rapunzel had made lunches for all of them, and she pulled Jack's from her messenger bag as he sat down next to her.

"Thanks," he said, though he didn't open the container. Instead he leaned forward, bracing his elbows on the table as he closed his eyes. His hood was pulled low, but Astrid could see the tips of his bangs peeking out beneath the fabric. Hair that was currently white. At least for a moment – long enough for her to be sure what she saw – before it darkened to brown.

He opened his eyes.

"Someone needs to come with me to this thing tonight," he said, voice dark.

Astrid started to ask "what thing?", but realized Hiccup was asking the same thing. (It was kind of nice not to be the only one looking for answers for once.)

"The Hans Westerguard thing," Jack said. His eyes flickered to blue, and frost started to furl across the table. He grimaced, griping the edge of the table so hard his knuckles turned white. "We just watched a video of a recent appearance in class, and I barely kept from freezing the room over."

"Can't you get out of it?" Astrid asked, taking of bite of the chicken salad sandwich Rapunzel had made for her.

"I tried," he said. "But this is the same professor who made me reread the book because I disagreed with him in my essay. We're required to attend, and write yet another paper on his glorious quest to rid the world of costumed maniacs."

"The more you talk like that, the harder it will be to control yourself," Hiccup said.

Jack groaned. Then took a deep breath, and finally opened the contained Rapunzel had handed him.

"Thanks," he said again, this time with more sincerity.

"You're welcome."

"This is why I told you not to go into a social science," Hiccup said.

"I should have listened," Jack muttered, snapping a carrot stick with his teeth. "But it's too late to change, so I need someone to come tonight and stop me from doing anything stupid. Like stick Westerguard in a block of ice."

Astrid thought that might be a gift to society, actually.

Jack looked at Rapunzel (to the surprise of no one) but the hope flickered out of his eyes. "You're going to that book signing."

"I promised Belle I would be there," she said apologetically. "I can't cancel on her."

"It okay," Jack tried to assure. Though he looked worried as he turned to Hiccup.

"What time is it?"

"Seven-thirty. Help me, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, you're my only hope."

"You're really desperate if you're using _Star Wars_ to get me," Hiccup said, while he and Astrid both snickered.

"Obviously!"

Hiccup's grin didn't fully fade, but he did grow more serious. "I have to do some work in the lab, so I'll meet you here." He looked at Astrid. "Wanna come?"

No, she didn't, actually. Listening to Westerguard talk about how mutants were a menace to society did not sound like a fun way to spend an evening, thank you very much.

But she nodded. "Sure."

"Great," Jack said, sarcastic and unenthusiastic. "It'll be a teambuilding activity."

#

Merida scoffed when Jack brought it up at the house.

"If I want to know how much people hate me, I'll read the message boards, thanks" she said, rolling her eyes as she lay back on one of the couches with a magazine. "Besides, someone's gotta patrol."

"At least you have a choice," Jack muttered, washing the glass he just used for orange juice. He was already tense, probably trying to hold back his powers. He had traded his normal hoodie for a black leather jacket, and a black beanie to keep his hair covered. "And I keep telling you not to wear that shirt on campus."

Merida lowered her magazine, and glanced down at her shirt, which had the Braveheart shield emblazoned on the front. Astrid recognized it as the ones that were sold on campus, out of the trunk of some kid's car.

"No one's figured it out so far," she said, turning attention back to her magazine.

"You wouldn't wear it so much if Eret hadn't given it to you."

"Shut up."

Astrid, who sat on the floor with Toothless, quirked an eyebrow. But Jack didn't bother with a comeback. At any other time, he probably would.

A moment later Rapunzel came out of the hallway. Her knee length purple dress was made of a soft fabric that flowed with her movements, over a pair of dark grey leggings, and a lavender suede jacket. Astrid couldn't help but feel a bit envious at how Rapunzel always looked so effortlessly put together.

Jack's gaze was certainly appreciative.

"I have to go." She hesitated as she went into the kitchen. "Are you sure you'll be alright?"

"I have Hiccup and Astrid," he said, though he sounded as though he were trying to convince himself as much as her. "What could possibly go wrong?"

"I hate it when you say that," she said, reaching out to touch his arm. She cocked her head to the side as she ran her fingers over the leather of his jacket. "This brings back memories."

"I've been having a lot of those lately."

Rapunzel looked ready to say something else, but her phone chimed. Something that happened often enough that Astrid knew the sound of her text alerts.

"I have to go," she said again. "I'll see you tonight."

"Yeah." He watched her go with doleful puppy eyes, staring after her even after she had vanished down the hallway, and they had heard the garage door close behind her.

"What's Westerguard's deal, anyway?" Astrid asked later, as she and Jack drove back to the college.

"He's from some rich family over in New England, but I guess he thought his trust fund wasn't enough." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "He went looking for some rich girl he could marry for her money, and he found Elsa's sister, Anna. Since their parents did a great job of royally messing up their kids, Anna was so desperate for love she didn't think twice when Hans' proposed a week after they met."

When Astrid glanced over, she saw that some of his tense annoyance had been replaced with frustration. He had pushed his beanie back to run a hand through his hair.

"When they went to tell Elsa about the engagement, she freaked out and lost control of her powers. Not as bad as last week, but still bad. Anna said Hans called off the engagement after Elsa nearly killed him. He vanished for a while, then resurfaced on the New York Time's Best Sellers list with his anti-vigilante agenda."

"Still no sign of Elsa?" she knew Jack's search efforts had been halfhearted. But he had been searching, when he wasn't training her.

"No," he scowled. "And that's starting to worry me."

They pulled into the parking lot adjacent to the auditorium. The event was open to the public, and the public was obviously interested, judging by how many cars there were.

"You picked a great time to become a vigilante," Jack said. "In the middle of a hate campaign."

Astrid rolled her eyes… but he had a point.

She spotted Hiccup sitting on the surface of a picnic table, talking on his phone while he waited for them. But he hung up as he got down and came over to meet them on the sidewalk.

"My mom says hi."

Valka had been on Berk for the past few days.

He fell into step between them, and Astrid felt their arms brush.

"You okay?" he asked Jack. His voice was lowered as they walked past a cluster of students.

"I'm wearing my contacts just in case."

Astrid took that to mean "no".

The glasses he wore around campus were pointless, since they probably did nothing to help hide his identity, and when she asked he had admitted there was nothing wrong with his vision. She suspected he just liked the look. So the brown circle lenses he wore now were just to cover his irises if he lost control and they turned blue.

Inside, the auditorium was already filled with the buzz of conversation, more than half the seats already taken. Astrid recognized a few people from around the campus. A couple waved or nodded to Jack, and it seemed safe to guess they were from his class.

They slipped into the back row of seats, close to the door they had come through.

As soon as they sat down, Jack hunched in his seat, feet braced on the empty chair in front of him. Astrid didn't exactly feel enthusiastic either as she settled in next to Hiccup. Despite the talk about Black and Westerguard both leading hate campaigns against the Big 4, she hadn't expected there to be this many people. The space wasn't exactly small.

She looked around, her eyes landing on a dark haired woman who stood by the wall. Tall even before the six inch heels she wore.

"Hey, Jack."

He lifted his head from the sulk he had been wallowing in. "Yeah?"

"Isn't that Serphina? Or whatever her name is?"

Jack followed her gaze… then ducked back down into his seat. "Yup. That's her."

Trying not to be conspicuous, Astrid looked back curiously.

Seraphina was dressed in a green and black dress suit that even Astrid could tell was expensive. Her long, wavy black hair was left down, but no doubt still carefully styled. She was regal and intimidating, like a Roman statue, though "beautiful" wasn't the first word that came to mind when you looked at her. (And she did look exactly like the kind of woman who had pulled Jack's ear when they were younger. Actually, forget "when they were younger". She probably still might.)

"Why is she here?"

Jack shrugged.

"She tries to keep her distance from anything that might connect her to her father, but she still stays informed," Hiccup said.

Jack waved, in a silent 'what he said'.

"Does she know who you are?" Astrid asked.

Hiccup nodded.

Glancing back again, Astrid's throat clenched when Seraphina turned her head, and her gaze landed right on her. She faced forward quickly. Heart pounding. Though she wasn't entirely sure why.

"Yeah, she has that affect," Hiccup said, laughing a little.

"Was her dad that scary when he was…?"

"Emily's not scary – she's just intimidating," Jack said. "And he was always terrifying."

Astrid risked another glance back, and saw Seraphina talking to a short, portly man with golden blond hair. Well, she was speaking, while the man responded with sign language.

Jack looked back. "Sandy. I wasn't expecting him."

"Who is he?"

"He's—" Jack stopped, lowering his feet as an older woman came to take a seat in the chair in front of him. "Tell ya later."

The woman glared at him as she sat down, her powder scented perfume causing Astrid's nose to wrinkle.

A couple minutes later the blond man came over to them, signing something to Jack.

"Hey, Sandy. Sure."

Sandy smiled as he took the seat next to Jack. Within a moment they were deep in a conversation Astrid couldn't begin to understand, since Jack started signing rather than use his voice.

"One of Jack's hidden talents," Hiccup whispered to her, slipping his phone back in his jacket pocket.

"The surprises don't seem to stop lately," Astrid whispered back.

Hiccup laughed under his breath. "Welcome to our world."

"I'm getting the impression it's a lot bigger than I thought," she admitted, glancing back at Sanndy. "Who is he?"

He leaned over to whisper in her ear: "The Sandman. From the Guardians."

Astrid jolted. "The—" She stopped, lowering her voice back to a whisper. "The _Guardians_? Are you guys part of some superhero union?"

"Didn't we tell you? There's a twenty dollar a month union fee."

She smacked his shoulder, though she couldn't help but return his grin.

"No," he said, rubbing his shoulder. "I wish. They offered Jack a position, but his infatuation with Rapunzel made him stay with us. They help us out with resources from time to time." Something flashed in his green eyes. A memory, she suspected. Probably not a good one. After a moment, he shook it off.

"A lot bigger than I thought," she murmured.

Before anything more could be said, the lights overhead dimmed, and conversation through the auditorium faded away. On stage, one of the projector screen at the back of the stage lit up. Astrid recognized the footage immediately. After all the times she had watched it, it was impossible not to.

It was the fight that had gotten her here. The fight against Gothel outside City Hall. Just as Hiccup and Toothless arrived on the scene; moments after they had flown over her head outside Starbucks.

Jack and Merida were back to back on the ground, moving in practiced synch to hold off Gothel's cohorts. Now that she knew the two, she could only guess they set aside their differences when they were on the field.

The fountain froze over when one of the thugs pushed Jack too close to it.

She kept expecting – hoping – that the video would cut off. As she watched a punch knock Jack to the ground – and felt both him and Hiccup shifting uncomfortably in their seats – she really didn't want to see what was coming. She hadn't watched it since she had started spending time at the Haddock house.

When she had asked, while they were working on the basement, Hiccup had told her that the mechanics of the saddle had malfunctioned, and his prosthetic had become detached.

The camera hadn't been on him when it happened. It had been on Merida, as she slammed her elbow into a thug's solar plexus, before using the same arm to nock an arrow. Until there was a scream from the onlookers. Then the camera jerked upwards.

Tearing her eyes from the screen, she looked down, for Hiccup's hand. Without thinking, she took it in her own. He turned his head to look at her, momentarily surprised. But he didn't seem to question the touch. Instead he squeezed back, and letting their hands rest between them.

The warmth of his calloused fingers comforted her. A solid reminder that he had survived the fall. He was alive. And he was right next to her. It distracted her from what was happening on the screen. Which she knew well enough to play out in her mind's eye.

This was the first time she had held hands with anyone. In complete defiance of the tomboy she had always believed herself to be, her heart fluttered as the situation hit her. That thought was more than enough to mull over until Toothless's roar rattled her ribcage. Startling her enough she looked back at the screen.

The video cut off there. And she perfectly understood Jack's huff of annoyance. They had shown everything except the fact that the team had successfully gotten Gothel back into custody. Above the stage, the lights came back up, revealing Hans Westerguard behind the podium.

Hiccup snickered in response to something Jack muttered to him.

"Good evening," Westerguard said. His suit was immaculate, his red hair neatly combed back. As with every time she saw him, Astrid got the sense he was trying to convince the whole world he should be taken seriously. "I'm glad you all could be here."

Astrid clenched the hand not wrapped in Hiccup's, wishing she could try one of her improved punches on Westerguard's face.

"For years I've talked about the dangers of these vigilantes on our society, and it's nice to finally be listened to."

Jack groaned. Loudly. As he slumped further into his seat in obvious misery. The woman seated in front of him looked back with a disapproving glare (which he didn't seem to notice), but Sandy patted his arm sympathetically.

"Specialists have talked about how they encourage violence; that their taking the law into their own hands promotes anarchy. And I agree. That is all true. And dangerous. But if that is all we focus on, than we're ignoring the heart of the issue."

"Spare me," Astrid muttered.

Hiccup squeezed her hand, and she glanced over to see him smiling.

Oblivious to their frustration and annoyance – and clearly enjoying the platform a little too much – Westerguard went on.

"Mutation is a messy topic—" if it was possible, Jack slouched lower in his seat "—one that no one really wants to discuss, other than what might have caused it. Evolution, radiation, an act of God… I don't know. I first because aware of this issue when I became engaged to a girl whose sister had ice powers. That engagement didn't last."

The story Jack had told her in the car on the way there.

"I'm not sure what scares me more. Someone who can control ice, and create a storm like the one we experienced last week, or someone who rides around the city on the back of a dragon. A creature that – according the legends – was feared for its violence and greed. A monster."

She could almost feel Hiccup's annoyance through their joined hands. It almost made her laugh, though. Especially when she remembered the way Toothless purred when she scratched under his jaw, or the way he pranced over to Hiccup.

Even Stormfly. Once Astrid had gotten past the dragon's hostile appearance, she had realized that the Nadder was an absolute sweetheart. Sure, the dragons could bare their teeth when they were mad. But so could any dog. True, most dogs couldn't breathe fire… but still.

"In the past few years, these so call 'supers' have become a part of our lives. We ignore them as much as we can. When I arrived here at the college today, I saw a girl wearing a Braveheart tshirt."

"Merida," Jack muttered.

"Embracing these vigilantes is the most dangerous—"

Astrid tuned him out.

Jack was visibly struggling – but Sandy seemed to be doing more good than either she or Hiccup. The man signed to Jack frequently. Though he and Hiccup did lean over to whisper to each other several times.

Hiccup didn't let go of her hand, so she could feel every time something Westerguard said made him tense. She would squeeze his hand, and he returned the pressure with a grateful smile.

Finally, after almost an hour, his seemingly endless tirade (Astrid couldn't even figure out what his point had been) came to an end, and he asked if there were any questions.

Jack made a move to get up, but Hiccup grabbed his wrist.

"Don't do anything stupid," he hissed.

Sandy rested a small hand on Jack's other arm.

Before Jack could say or do anything, movement on the stage caught all their attention.

Seraphina Typhan walked onto the stage as if she owned it, her head held high. In her stilettos, she was taller than Westerguard.

"I have a question," she said, though it seemed more like she was commandeering his stage than simply asking a question.

Hans almost fumbled with his microphone. "M-Miss Typhan. What an honor to have you—"

She waved him off. And Astrid couldn't deny that she liked the woman's style.

"Tell me, Westerguard. Your basic suggestion is to capture and cage the Big 4. Never mind that they're human beings, with certain legal, and God given rights."

"That's—"

She waved him off again. "So tell me. Once the Big 4, and the Guardians, and every other hero team, are off the streets, how do you propose dealing with the likes of Drago Blüdvist? Or Pitch Black?" The way she said the name demanded attention. And the auditorium seemed to fall silent. "Local authorities have proven all but useless against them. The one time the National Guard, or the army, made it here, they hardly did much better."

"It doesn't seem as if they did much good against them in last month's prison break."

Astrid's fist clenched. But Hiccup squeezed her hand.

"No one even knew the prison break happened until the penitentiary got their communications back up. True, the four did fall for the distraction." Jack was glowering at her. "But what about every other time?"

Westerguard didn't seem to like the question, judging from the way he bristled.

"The Big 4 showed up on the scene long before this so called 'Nightmare King'. For all we know, he wouldn't have shown up if not for the Big 4."

"That may very well be the stupidest thing I have ever heard," she responded. "And that's saying something, considering what I put up with in a day. But I want to know if you have a solution. Since you claim to be an expert."

The expression on Westerguard's face was priceless. He clearly wasn't used to being challenged.

And she didn't let up. " Drago Blüdvist's Bewilderbeast leveled almost ten city blocks before Jack Frost and Braveheart killed it. After every other attempt had failed to do anything more than infuriate it. Mor'du doesn't even seem to want a prize – just a fight. Not to mention every other petty villain they've dealt with in the past half-decade. You mentioned Miss Arendelle, and the events of last week. When the police tried to intervene, Jack Frost still protected everyone from that ice monster, even while he was bleeding on the ground. It seems the Big 4 are the only defense this city has against these maniacs. Who are the real threat you seem so keen to overlook."

Hiccup and Jack both seemed to be enjoying this. Even Sandy nodded approval.

"Are you saying we should let these freaks run free?" Hans asked. He gave it a good attempt, but couldn't come close to the sheer presence of Seraphina on the stage.

"There are a lot of types I wish I weren't running free in the streets," Seraphina said. "But you don't see me campaigning for them to be rounded up and caged. And, freaks or not, they seem to be the only hope this city has. If it weren't for Pitch Black and the others, I agree, we might not need the Big 4. Though street and gang violence are down approximately twenty-seven percent in the past five years."

"That would make sense," Hans said. Obviously scrambling. "But you're assuming that the Big 4 are heroes. How do we know they're not as bad as any of the others? They just haven't had time to set up their own regimen."

"Oh, for Heaven's sake!" Seraphina cried, exasperated. "This past summer was almost silent. All the Big 4 did was stop petty thieves and pull children out of the road. If that's their 'evil regimen', then I'm all for it!"

Astrid may have thought the Big 4 were freaks, or pests, before she had met them. But even she had never thought they were trying to take over the city. That was ludicrous.

"Have you read my book?"

"Yes, I have," she said. "I wasted seven hours of my life on your book. And I found it to be the most vulgar, sycophantic posturing I have ever had the displeasure of reading. You have proposed a hackneyed solution that is the equivalent of destroying your white blood cells to rid yourself of the symptoms of a cold. As a business woman, if someone presented me with such a halfcocked scheme, I would laugh them out of my office."

She walked away from Westerguard, across the stage, without giving him a chance to respond. The spotlight followed her, sparkling off the diamonds in her necklace and earrings. On her way down the steps, she handed the microphone to…

Astrid and Hiccup both looked at Jack's empty seat, then back to where he was taking the mic gleefully. Neither of them had even noticed that he had stood up.

Jack didn't waste time. "I just wanted to say that I hate the book. Miss Typhan put it perfectly. It's a whole lot of posturing to cover up the fact that the Snow Queen – as you call her – wouldn't let you marry her sister because she knew you were just after Anna's inheritance. Your whole campaign is petty and childish."

He dropped the mic, and followed Seraphina up the aisle.

Hiccup gestured, and Astrid stood up from her seat. She, Hiccup, and Sandy, followed the other two out of the auditorium.

#

Jack wasn't entirely sure why he followed Emily Jane out. Maybe old habits die hard. And he had been thinking a lot about the past lately. Since his thoughts/dreams had been consumed with it while he bled. He was feeling more favorable to her than he had been in… a long time.

Their last few encounters had been tense, to say the least.

He was aware that the others followed them out, but focused on Emily Jane. The cool night air was blissfully sweet as they strode down the sidewalk. Coming to a stop where her driver was just pulling her black Mercedes-Benz up to the curb.

Emily Jane turned to him while the adjusted the leather gloves she had just pulled on.

"Don't say I never do anything for you, Jackson."

He nodded. "Thanks for coming."

"That had nothing to do with you," she said. "But he's become a pest that I have no patience for. Not with everything else that's going on."

"Still. Thank you."

She turned her grey gaze on him… and after a moment, her expression softened. "I'm glad you're alright, Jackson. When I saw—" She took a deep breath, and seemed to decide that what she had been about to say would have been too sentimental for her public image. Or just for whom she was. She had never been overly affectionate. "We've been through more than most people can ever imagine, you and I."

"Does this mean we're friends again?"

She nodded. "Yes, I think it does."

"Amazing would getting stabbed will do for your life."

Emily Jane scoffed. "Honestly, Jackson."

She turned to the others. "Sandy, I would appreciate if you would have Nicholas call me tomorrow. I can't understand how that man is so difficult to get ahold of."

Sandy signed back that he would, and wished her and Jack a good night before walking away.

She turned to the two standing a couple feet away. "Hiccup, I wish you the best. Do try to keep Jack under control."

"When you figure out how, let me know," Hiccup said. "But, thanks."

"This is Astrid," Jack said, feeling he should make some kind of introduction when Emily Jane turned her gaze on the blonde. "Astrid, Seraphina-whatever-she-calls-herself."

"Really, Jackson."

Astrid inclined her head in greeting, and Emily Jane did the same.

"It's an interesting world you've stumbled into, Astrid," she said. "Try not to get lost."

"Thanks. I think."

After wishing them a good night, she slid into the back seat, and the driver peeled away from the curb.

"Well, at least the night wasn't a total waste," Hiccup said, while they started across the parking lot. "I have a feeling we're going to need every ally we can get before this is over."

"Ain't that the truth," Jack muttered.


End file.
